At least 17 people were killed in an explosion in Nigeria’s southwestern Ogun state on Friday when a vehicle collided with a fuel tanker on a busy highway, emergency services said.
Accidents with fuel tankers are frequent in Nigeria where roads may be poorly maintained and residents attempt to extract oil or petrol after such accidents.
“A vehicle and a fuel tanker collided and exploded,” Shaheed Akiode, the local coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, told AFP.
“Now we have 17 people who have lost their lives,” Akiode said. He said the death toll could rise, and an unspecified number was taken to hospital.
He said the incident took place on the Ishara Bridge along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, a major road leading to the country’s largest city.
Akiode said fire services and other agencies were on the spot to restore normal traffic.
Last June, five people were killed and 13 others were injured when a tanker exploded due to a gas leak in Lagos.
In April, a fuel tanker overturned, spilled its contents and caught fire in Benue state in central Nigeria, killing 12 people and burning dozens of homes.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, imports most of the fuel it consumes and is currently facing shortages, leading to long queues at petrol stations.
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