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The accident occurred along the Enugu-onitsha highway in the southeast state of Enugu after the tank truck, loaded with gasoline, lost control and embarked on 17 vehicles.
Representative image of the Nigerian police | Reuters
At least 18 people died and another 10 were injured in southern Nigeria after a petrol oil company exploded, authorities said.
The accident occurred along the Enugu-onitsha highway in the southeastern state of Enugu after the oil tanker, loaded with gasoline, lost control and embarked on 17 vehicles, and exploded in flame, said the federal body of security of security of The Nigeria road in a statement on Saturday night.
Those who died were “burned beyond recognition,” said the rescue teams of the security body, said Olusegun Oguungbemide. In addition to the 10 injured, rescuers extracted three others who were unharmed.
With the absence of an efficient rail system to transport load, fatal accidents of trucks are common on most of Nigeria’s main roads, the most populated country in Africa.
Earlier this month, 98 people were killed in an explosion of the petrol oil in the center-norte of Nigeria, near the Suleja area of the state of Niger, after people tried to transfer gasoline from a starry oil tanker to another truck using a generator. Some spectators were in the place to collect gasoline. Then, the authorities began a national campaign against the collection of gasoline of fallen oil tankers and other practices that could lead to death.
“Gasoline cistern accidents do not have to lead to loss of lives,” said Lanre Issa-Alu, general director of the National Orientation Agency, the agency responsible for communicating government policy, in an event close to the Sulaja area Saturday.
The prices of gasoline in the most populous country in Africa have shot after President Bola Tinubu’s government eliminated subsidies more than a year ago in an attempt to channel resources for more development. However, politics has caused difficulties to the premises.
Taking gasoline from a fallen oil tanker is common in Nigeria, since some use it or sell it for earnings.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a FEED -Associated Press Union News Agency)