Nigeria tanker blast death toll rises to 98

Lagos – Nigerian rescuers on Monday raised the toll from the explosion of a petrol tanker truck that killed people rushing to gather fuel from 86 to 98.

Saturday’s blast also injured 69 people after the tanker flipped over on a road in the centre of the country, said Abdullahi Baba-Arah, Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA).

Around 20 shops were also destroyed in the flames, with the truck carrying 60,000 litres (nearly 16,000 gallons) of gasoline.

A fuel tanker exploded in the Dikko area of Niger State, northern Nigeria, killing at least 60 people who had gathered to scoop fuel.

In October, a similar incident occurred in Jigawa State, northern Nigeria, claiming the lives of over 170 people🤯 pic.twitter.com/IG0FiQFs1m

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The blast struck at the Dikko junction on the road linking the federal capital Abuja to the northern city of Kaduna.

A crowd of people rushed to the spot where the tanker had turned over in search of fuel, whose price has soared in an economic crisis.

Africa’s most populous country has experienced inflation in excess of 30 percent for the past year.

At least 70 people were killed and more injured in northern Nigeria on Saturday when a petrol tanker truck overturned, spilling fuel that exploded, the country’s national emergency agency said.#Nigeria #Gasoline #TankerExplosion #Blast #NigeriaExplosion #Breaking #ALERT pic.twitter.com/PcV5tCZ8rS

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That has been fuelled in part by the economic reforms, including the ending of a costly fuel subsidy, of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

With petrol prices rising fivefold in 18 months – despite the country being Africa’s largest oil producer – some Nigerians have become willing to risk their lives to collect fuel from vehicles involved in road accidents.