MAJIYA: On Wednesday, authorities reported that at least 147 people had died when an explosion tore through throngs of people who had rushed to gather fuel spilled from a crashed tanker in northern Nigeria.
In a nation going through its worst economic crisis in a generation, gasoline has become an extremely valuable commodity, and this tragedy is just the most recent example of such an event.
According to authorities, the fuel truck collapsed late on Tuesday in the Jigawa state town of Majiya after veering to avoid colliding with another car. After the collision, locals gathered around the overturned tanker to collect the fuel that was leaking.
After hearing “shouts of joy,” student Sanusi Lawan told AFP he hurried to join hundreds of others who were using buckets to collect petrol.
Bodies buried in a mass grave, scores of them burned beyond recognition
When they heard “a huge explosion and cries of pain and fright,” the 21-year-old had already taken his bucket home and his brother had convinced him not to go back for more.
“We arrived at the location quickly, and what we saw was horrific,” stated Lawan. “People were screaming for rescue as they ran while burning. If I hadn’t followed my brother’s advise, I would have perished.
The national emergency agency reported about 147 fatalities. Chairman of the local government Hambali Zarga cautioned that the death toll was likely to increase, pointing out that this figure only included those interred in a single mass grave.
“Burnt beyond recognition,” he told AFP at the cemetery of several corpses.
He stated that while some 140 injured citizens were receiving treatment in adjacent hospitals, other dead had been buried somewhere else.
In order to assist with the surge of patients, the Nigerian Medical Association has called on physicians to head straight to emergency rooms.
Nigerian senators held a minute of silence in the nation’s capital, Abuja.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the president, declared that he was “committed to the swift and comprehensive review of fuel transportation safety protocols across the country” and promised to assist those impacted.
“Gold is fuel.”
In the most populated country in Africa, fuel tanker explosions frequently occur due to inadequate road maintenance. Since Tinubu eliminated subsidies last year, gas prices have multiplied fivefold, and shortages are common.
After the state oil company raised rates for the second time in less than two months last week, desperation became even further.
The student Lawan told AFP at the scene, “Everyone knows about the risk involved in scooping fuel when a tanker crashes but the level of poverty is too much to resist the temptation.” Given the economic downturn, he declared, “Fuel is now gold.”
Eyewitnesses corroborated the police spokesperson Lawan Shiisu Adam’s assertion that the mob had “overwhelmed” the cops attempting to halt them.
A 30-year-old civil servant named Buhari Ali said of the mass burial, “People will do anything to get what (they) need to eat. There is pervasive poverty in the country.” “People cannot afford to miss such a rare opportunity because they are hungry.”
Tanker accidents are common in the nation; in 2020, the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) reported 1,531 incidents involving tankers, which resulted in 535 fatalities.
In northwest Niger state, a fuel tanker collided with a truck transporting people and cattle last month, resulting in at least 59 fatalities.
According to the FRSC, there were over 5,000 road deaths in Nigeria in 2023 as opposed to about 6,500 the year before.
