Fifty- eight Person's feared dead in Niger fuel tanker crash

Fifty-eight people have been confirmed dead in Niger State after a fuel tanker collided with a lorry carrying passengers and cattle, the State Emergency Agency said. 

The Niger State Emergency Management Agency said the collision happened on Sunday, and caused an explosion which caught up both vehicles. 

Director-General of the Agency, Abdullahi Baba-arah, said response teams were dispatched to the scene to manage the situation. It was learnt that several other vehicles were also engulfed in the explosion. 

Speaking to Newsmen after the incident, an emergency rescue worker said they were attempting to recover bodies, as well as dead animals which were still inside the vehicle. 

A video taken from the scene shortly after the incident shows the two vehicles, which have been totally burnt out, as well as several dead cattle.

Hussain Ibrahim, Spokesman for the Niger State Emergency Unit, disclosed on National news that the death toll has now risen to 59 after one of those badly injured died at the hospital and from more discoveries at the site of the accident saying that the death toll could rise even higher. 

"It's also possible that more dead bodies could be discovered in the process of the continued evacuation," he said 

According to Mr  Ibrahim, funerals took place for most of the victims on Sunday. His words: "This without doubt, is the worst accident we have recorded in many years,” He added that the Niger state Government is managing the hospital bill for those injured. 

In a condolence message to the families of the victims, Governor Umaru Bago said he was pained by the unfortunate incident. It is on record that fuel tanker explosions and accidents are common across Nigeria, partly due to the poor state of roads.