At least 50 persons died in a petrol tanker explosion along the Dikko-Maje road in Suleja local government area of Niger State on Saturday.
The sector commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in the state, Mr. Kumar Tsukwam, confirmed the incident to journalists in Minna.
He said a loaded petrol tanker fell at the incident scene with people scooping the spilling fuel and unaware of the impending danger.
Tsukwam said the flames engulfed those who went to scoop fuel while people who tried to rescue them were also affected.
He added that personnel of FRSC and other sister agencies were on ground for the rescue mission.
The Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Alhaji Abdullahi Baba-Arah, said the explosion occurred at about 9:00 a.m. on Saturday.
He said the incident occurred when a tanker loaded with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) crashed while trying to transfer its contents to another tanker.
“In the process, the fuel came into contact with a generator used to effect the transfer and triggered an explosion that claimed over 50 lives.
“Many other persons were injured, while properties worth millions of Naira were destroyed in the incident,” the NSEMA boss added.