Nearly a hundred people died in northern Nigeria after a fuel tanker exploded following a late Tuesday night crash, police said. The tragedy unfolded on a road in Jigawa State near the town of Majia, drawing emergency responders to the scene as the blaze burned for hours. Authorities described a chaotic tableau as residents and bystanders gathered, and they urged calm while rescuers worked to extinguish the flames. The scale of the loss underscored the fragile situation in parts of the region, where weak infrastructure and security concerns complicate emergency response efforts.
The truck overturned after losing control on the Jigawa highway, and the resulting blast ripped through the area as people crowded around the tanker to scoop up the spilled fuel. Police spokesperson Lawan Shiisu Adam said many of the deaths occurred when the crowd pressed close to the burning vehicle, creating a dangerous sequence of secondary fires. Officials cautioned that fuel from damaged tanks can ignite easily, turning a single accident into a deadly catastrophe.
Residents near the accident zone described a chaotic scene as a crowd gathered around the tanker, hoping to claim fuel despite warnings from police. The crowd pressed closer as the flames grew, and some individuals tried to lift containers filled with gasoline while officers shouted for calm. Firefighters and security personnel worked to establish a safe perimeter and keep onlookers at a distance, but the scale of the gathering and the intensity of the blaze hampered those efforts.
Emergency crews tried to pull people away from the scene, but the crowd’s momentum and fear prevented orderly evacuation and hindered rescue operations. The ongoing explosions complicated access for responders and raised the risk of further casualties. The incident has prompted questions about road safety, regulatory gaps, and the vulnerability of communities that rely on salvage in the aftermath of crashes.
Explosions involving tanker trucks are not unusual in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, where road conditions are often poor and fuel is both scarce and highly valued. Authorities have long warned about the dangers of siphoning from damaged tanks and the risk of secondary fires that follow an initial crash. The tragedy renewed calls for better road maintenance, stricter enforcement against fuel theft, and clearer guidelines on how to manage accident scenes to prevent another deadly sequence of events.