LAGOS 17 Oct. (DPA/EP) –
The Nigerian Police this Thursday raised the death toll to 153 due to the explosion of a tanker truck as it passed through the state of Jigawa, in the northeast of the African country.
Another hundred people, including dozens of children, have been injured after the explosion, which caused a strong fire. Police spokesperson Lawan Shiisu Adam has indicated that many of them are in serious condition and are receiving medical treatment.
Many of the fatalities are people who approached the vehicle after its driver lost control of it and suffered an accident while passing through the town of Majiya.
Despite alerts from the authorities, numerous residents of the area approached the truck in an attempt to get gasoline, which has increased the number of victims.
Preliminary information pointed to 140 deaths, although the authorities have now increased the toll while waiting for the victims to be identified by their relatives and subsequently buried.
The driver was covering the distance between Kano and Nguru, Yobe, when the accident occurred. The northern part of Nigeria has a high poverty rate, which encourages residents to approach these vehicles in the event of an accident, a very dangerous practice.
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