17 people dead as petrol tanker catches fire in Nigeria

OGUN, Nigeria—No fewer than 17 people have died after a fuel tanker exploded in a collision on Friday with another vehicle in Nigeria’s Ogun state.

According to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the accident happened around 5 am on Friday, February 18, before Isara bridge.

The spokesperson of the FRSC in Ogun, Florence Okpe, said 14 of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition, adding that the FRSC was able to identify one man, one woman, and a girl.

“The total number of people involved is not ascertained, but a total of 17 bodies (killed) have been identified.

“One male, one female, and one female child only have been identified, while others were burnt beyond recognition and no injury sustained,”Okpe said.

She added that the tanker had a head-on collision with a Mazda bus marked, ZT728 KLD.“The suspected causes of the fatal crash were route violation and dangerous driving, which resulted in a head-on collision and fire outbreak.

Preliminary investigations show that route violation and dangerous driving caused the accident.