A petrol tanker accident has left 48 people and 50 cows burnt to death in Niger State, in another “very ugly” incident in the troubled vast agricultural North Central State.
Â
Niger has been in the grip of orgies of violence of recent with more than 19 people killed in the past one week plus in persistant attacks by bandits in part of the State.Â
Â
The horrific incident occurred when a petrol tanker loaded with Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) exploded after a head-on collision with a trailer along Agaie-Lapai highway in the State.
Â
Confirming the accident, Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) disclosed it ccurred at about 12:30am today, Sunday, September 8, at Dendo village, two kilometers from Agaie town, the headquarters of Agaie Local Government Area.
Â
NSEMA said in a statement by the public relations officer, Allhassan Idris in Minna, that the accident occurred when the petrol tanker collided with a trailer truck loaded with travellers and cattle from Wudil in Kano State and heading to lagos, adding that two other vehicles, a crane truck and a pickup van were also caught in the incident, with “over 30 people already confirmed dead and more than 50 cattle burnt alive'”
Â
He, however, assured that the NSEMA Rapid Response Team (RRT) in conjunction with other relevant agencies had promptly arrived at the scene of the accident to control the situation and conduct search and response operation as more dead bodies were said to be still trapped inside the burnt trucks.
