Dozens killed as petrol tanker crashes and explodes in Nigeria

Dozens of people were killed on Tuesday after a petrol tanker crashed and exploded in Nigeria.

“A tanker loaded with fuel fell Yesterday (Monday) and people were scooping its products when it caught fire, killing over 50 persons,” a spokesman for the governor in central Benue state said on Tuesday. Others were badly injured and taken to hospital.

The truck overturned as it was travelling through the village of Ahumbe on Monday, before the fuel exploded as local residents tried to gather up the leaking petrol.

The blast tore through the surrounding area, engulfing a 14-seater bus and wounding dozens of people.

'Owing to the nature of the inferno, I am afraid more discoveries might be made today as rescue efforts continue,' Benue state Federal Road Safety Commission Sector Commander Aliyu Baba said.

Witness Paul Otukpa said a 14-seater bus was engulfed by the blast, leaving only one survivor.

Petrol tanker and pipeline blasts are common in Nigeria, where despite the country's multi-billion-dollar oil and gas industry, most people live in poverty.

Fires and explosions often occur as people try to siphon fuel from pipelines and also following accidents involving fuel tankers on badly maintained roads.

In January, at least eight people were killed in Odukpani, in the southeastern state of Cross River, in an accident of this kind.

Last October, 60 people were killed when a spill at an oil pipeline in the southeast caught fire.