At least eight people have been killed after a fuel truck exploded in southwestern Nigeria as residents were trying to siphon petrol out of it, police said.
The truck was involved in an accident Sunday night in a neighborhood in Ondo State. This caused it to veer off the road and topple on its side, police said on Monday.
“Some people stopped there to scoop up fuel. In the process, the tanker exploded,” said Ondo state police spokesman Fumilayo Odunlami-Omisanya.
Fuel truck accidents are common in Nigeria, where petroleum products are often carried across the country by road as the rail infrastructure is mostly outdated or inadequate.
Petrol prices have also risen from 189 naira ($0.24) to 617 naira ($0.78) per liter, the highest in Africa's largest oil producer. This is since Nigerian President Bola Tinubu scrapped a popular but costly fuel subsidy at his inauguration on May 29.
That has triggered economic woes in the country, especially for motorists, households, and small businesses that use gasoline generators for power. It also angered labor unions, which demand an increase in the minimum monthly wage from 30,000 naira ($37.69).
The explosion site
“I admit that the decision will place a heavy extra burden on our people. I feel your pain,” the president said in a broadcast to mark Democracy Day on June 12.
In June, average daily petrol consumption fell to 48.43 million liters (13 million gallons), down from a daily average of 66.9 million liters in January through May before the subsidy was removed, according to figures from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
Fuel truck accidents are common in Nigeria, where petroleum products are often carried across the country by road as the rail infrastructure is mostly outdated or inadequate. With this tragic accident, the authorities should make sure to do something about the gasoline explosion menace. Just last week, there was a deadly explosion in South Africa that killed several people and injured many more.