A fuel tanker explosion in the northern Nigeria state of Jigawa, has killed at least 105 people and injured at least 70, with numbers expected to rise.
Jigawa police spokesperson Shiisu Lawan Adam said, “The driver lost control and the tanker somersaulted and spilled fuel into a drainage ditch……As a result, residents rushed to scoop the fuel when the explosion happened.”
This blast comes a month after at least 48 people were killed in a similar accident in a north-central Niger state.
Reports are that residents often brave danger to scoop fuel from fallen tankers or damaged oil pipelines, as they face increasing living costs in the country, where gasoline is scarce and expensive.
Gas prices have dramatically risen to more than six times their usual rate after the government said last year it would no longer subsidize gasoline.
