Eight persons have been confirmed dead while scooping fuel after a petrol-laden tanker fell and spilled its content along the Ore-Benin Expressway, Ore in Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State.
While several people were claimed to have killed in the Sunday evening event, Ezekiel Son-Allah, Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Ondo State, confirmed on Monday that eight people were burned to death as a result of the explosion.
He said that overspending caused the white fuel tanker with no registration number to lose control.
Son-Allah noted that following the development, some residents of the close by village stormed the scene and started scooping fuel spilled from the fallen tanker.
According to him, unfortunately, the tanker exploded, burning eight persons who were scooping fuel to death.
The FRSC boss said the tanker and motor boy managed to escape from the scene unhurt.
He said the FRSC rescue team has deposited the remains of the victims at the morgue of the General Hospital in Ore.
The incident is the latest in petrol tanker explosions in Nigeria. Fuel accidents are frequent in Nigeria, and commonly happen when residents try to siphon off oil or petrol from pipelines or when tanker drivers crash on poorly maintained roads.
In June 2021, five people died and 13 others were injured in Lagos when a tanker exploded because of a gas leakage.
In April 2022, 12 people were killed and dozens of houses burnt when a fuel tanker overturned, spilled its contents, and caught fire in central Nigeria’s Benue state.
In January of that same year, a tanker explosion in the southern city of Agbor claimed four lives and injured 11.