Fuel tanker explosion kills 58 people in Niger Republic

No fewer than 58 people died in Niamey, the capital of Niger Republic after an overturned tanker truck exploded while people were trying to scoop fuel.

The blast on the RN1 route near the international airport night left the burnt truck’s wreckage, motorbikes and debris scattered over the road. Nearby houses were damaged by fire.

Witnesses said people were trying to collect petrol leaking from the truck, which had overturned on railway tracks, when the explosion happened. “Just before midnight I went out and I saw the truck overturned. People came from everywhere to take gas, then I saw fire on its side and everything burst into flames,” a college student told AFP.

President Mahamadou Issoufou visited some of the injured in hospital in the capital, according to the presidential Twitter account while Prime Minister Brigi Rafini and the Interior Minister Mohamed Bazoum inspected the site of the explosion, describing a scene of “real drama.”

Bazoum said the truck had tipped over while trying to park. Crowds and motorbike drivers rushed to the scene to take fuel from the tanker. “Unfortunately one of the motorcyclists did not switch off their engine. There must have been a spark that caused a massive blast,” the minister said.

He said 37 people were injured. Most were in a very serious condition in hospital with burns. Niger, a poor West African country, has tried to stamp out fuel smuggling from neighbouring Nigeria. Nigeria, a major oil producer, has seen similar deadly accidents and explosions in the past when people try to steal fuel from oil pipelines.