48 killed in Nigerian fuel truck explosion

At least 48 people were killed Sunday in a fuel tanker truck explosion following a collision with another vehicle in Niger state in north-central Nigeria, the state’s disaster management agency said.

The State Emergency Management Agency in north-central Niger state said the fuel truck collided with a truck carrying travelers and cattle. Several other vehicles were also caught up in the accident, it said.

Local media reported that two of the other vehicles — a crane truck and a pickup van —were involved in the accident and caught in the fire.

The emergency management agency’s spokesperson Hussaini Ibrahim put the death toll at 48 and officials were still trying to clear the scene of the incident, according to Voice of America.

Nigeria’s state-owned firm NNPC Ltd last week hiked the price of gasoline by at least 39%, the second major increase in more than a year but shortages have continued, forcing motorists to queue for hours in the country’s major cities and towns.