EXCITING NEWS: TNG WhatsApp Channel is LIVE…
Subscribe for FREE to get LIVE NEWS UPDATE. Click here to subscribe!
At least 50 people lost their lives last night when a petrol tanker crashed and exploded in Benue State.
The incident occurred at Ahumbe village in Gwer East Local Government Area along the ever-busy Makurdi-Otukpo Expressway.
Sources said that apart from the community members who came to scoop fuel, some vehicles also ran into fire when the truck exploded.
The victims, it was learnt, had gone to the area with containers to scoop fuel when the tanker caught fire and consumed them in the process.
Officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the fire service were said to have been alerted about the disaster.
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Sewuese Anene, confirmed the incident.
She said: “The death toll was high but the place cannot be assessed for fear of another explosion.”
Also, the local government’s Information Officer, Mr. Christopher Avi, said over 50 people were burnt to death while over 70 sustained severe injuries.
Avi explained that those who sustained carrying degrees of injury were rushed to four different hospitals for treatment.