At least 50 people were reported dead, and 101 others seriously injured after they rushed to scoop fuel from an overturned tanker, which exploded in central Nigeria, officials said Tuesday.
The incident happened on Monday afternoon after a fuel tanker trying to avoid a pothole overturned and fell off the road in Ahumbe village in Benue State, according to Baba Aliyu, who works with Nigeria’s road safety commission.
The death toll could rise as many of the injured were in a critical state, Benue State government spokesman Terver Akase told CNN.
Nearby shops were also burnt down in the explosion after fuel from the crash spilled on them, officials said.
Fuel tanker accidents are frequent in Nigeria, an oil-producing nation, where crude supplies are often transported by road.
Nearly 10 people died when an oil tanker exploded in Lagos city last June. More than 60 people were killed in another tanker accident in Anambra state in 2015
