By NO fewer than 86 persons have been confirmed dead in the tragic tanker explosion that occurred on Saturday, 18th January 2025, at Dikko Junction, Abuja-Kaduna Expressway, Niger State.
The Niger State Government, which confirmed the development, said charred corpses of the victims, who walked into the dead by attempting to scoop fuel from the fallen tanker, have been recovered and buried.
The government stated this through the Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Hon. Abdullahi Baba Arah, in a press statement signed and made available to journalists on Sunday in Minna.
The statement highlighted that 80 of the bodies of the deceased victims were buried in a mass grave at Dikko Public Health Centre (PHC) premises, while five bodies were carried away for burial by their relatives and one died in Dikko Public Health Centre (PHC).
Arah said the mass burial was carried out by the agency in collaboration with Gurara Local Government Area and brave, kind-hearted volunteers between the hours of 5:00p.m on the fateful Saturday and 12:00a.m on Sunday, 19th January 2025.
The statement, titled “Update on the Fuel Tanker’s Explosion,” emphasised that the number of injured victims now stands at 55 persons, with one dead in Dikko Public Health Centre, in Gurara Local Government Area of the state.
He said, “A total of 86 persons have been confirmed dead, with their corpses recovered and buried. While 80 of them were buried in a mass grave at Dikko PHC premises, five were carried away for burial in the town by relatives, and 1 died in Dikko PHC.”
He noted that “the mass burial was carried out by NSEMA in collaboration with Gurara LGA and very brave, kind-hearted volunteers between the hours of 5:00 pm on Saturday to 12:00 am on Sunday, 19th January 2025, just as the number of injured victims now stands at 55 with one dead in Dikko PHC.”
Recall on Saturday morning, many people were feared dead, with several others sustaining injuries in the fuel tanker explosion which occurred in Niger State, near Abuja.
The victims included those who
were attempting to scoop fuel from the fallen fuel tanker into their buckets and containers when the explosion occurred.
Witnesses said that some of the victims had even brought their generating set to aid in the fuel transfer from the fallen tanker to their container.
“I saw the bodies of the victims, but I cannot confirm the exact number of fatalities. Among the deceased were a pregnant woman and some children,” a witness told journalists.
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