Niamey – Seven people were killed when a fuel tanker exploded in a village in southern-central Niger after an accident, local officials said on Monday.
The blast happened on Saturday evening in the Zinder region as a crowd siphoned off fuel from the damaged truck, they said.
The explosion was caused by a spark from a motorbike, a source in the provincial offices said.
A TV report showed images of the overturned truck, which had been carrying 64 000 litres (17 000 gallons) of fuel to the capital Niamey.
Seven Killed In Niger Republic Tanker Explosion https://t.co/9YQcZcEKF9 pic.twitter.com/ljhC1xUEN6
— Onward Nigeria (@OnwardNG) October 31, 2022
Niger, an oil producer since 2011, has a long record of deadly accidents involving tanker trucks.
In May 2019, 76 people were killed and around 40 seriously burned in Niamey when a crowd gathered around an overturned truck that had been hauling petrol to neighbouring Burkina Faso.
Police had tried in vain to keep the crowd from the truck and firemen were even attacked by people eager to get to the petrol, witnesses said.
The blast was triggered by a motorcyclist who started up his machine after filling jerrycans with fuel, they said.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Twitter/@wilkoskillz
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