A truck carrying people and livestock collided head-on with a fuel tanker in the Agaie area of north-central Niger.
At least 48 people were killed when a fuel tanker collided with another truck and exploded, according to Nigeria’s emergency response agency.
Abdullahi Baba-Arab, head of Niger State Emergency Management Agency, said on Sunday that at least 50 cattle were burned alive when a fuel tanker carrying them burned in the Agaie district of north-central Niger state.
He said search and rescue operations were underway at the accident scene.
Baba Arab initially said 30 bodies had been found. But in a later statement, he said there were 18 more bodies of victims who had been burned to death in the clashes. He said the dead had been buried in a mass grave.
It was initially unclear how many people were injured.
Niger Governor Mohamed Bago said people in the affected areas should remain calm and asked road users to “always be cautious and follow road traffic regulations to protect lives and property.”
Fatal truck accidents are common on most of Nigeria’s major roads due to the lack of an efficient rail system to transport cargo. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, with a population of over 220 million people.
According to experts, the main causes are reckless driving, poor road conditions and poorly maintained vehicles.
According to the Federal Road Safety Corps of Nigeria, there were 1,531 petrol tanker crashes in 2020 alone, killing 535 people and injuring 1,142.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Ltd last week raised petrol prices by at least 39%, the second-largest increase in more than a year, but supply shortages persisted, forcing motorists to queue for hours in the country’s major cities and towns.
