No fewer than 30 people were in Tuesday been burnt to death in a tanker explosion in Essan and Badeggi communities along the Bida-Agaie Road in Katcha Local Government area of Niger State.
About 40 others sustained various degrees of injuries.
It was gathered the victims were scooping petroleum products from a fallen tanker when it exploded, leaving some bodies burnt beyond recognition.
The injured were reportedly rushed to nearby hospitals in the area for treatment.
Farouk Mohammed Kawo, the Niger State Chairman of Tanker Drivers and NUPENG disclosed that the tanker was transporting petroleum products from Lagos to the North.
He lamented that over 30 similar vehicles were involved in accidents in the same area this October alone and also decried the habit of residents from scooping oil from accident-prone vehicles.
Kawo cited a recent incident where a groundnut oil tanker overturned and its contents were scooped by residents.
He appealed to Governor Mohammed Umar Bago’s administration to urgently grade the affected road to prevent further calamity.
The chairman harped on the need for government’s intervention to address the recurring accidents on roads in the state.
