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At least 45 killed in Nigeria fuel tanker blast

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AFP Ahumbe (Nigeria)
Last Updated : Jul 02 2019 | 8:15 PM IST

At least 45 people were killed and more than 100 injured in central Nigeria when a petrol tanker crashed off the road and exploded as people gathered fuel, the emergency services said on Tuesday.

The truck overturned close to shops as it was travelling through the village of Ahumbe in Benue state on Monday.

Local residents rushed to collect the leaking gasoline for over an hour before the fuel caught fire, causing a blast that tore through the surrounding area.

"We have recovered 45 corpses of the dead while 101 others sustained serious fire burns," Benue state Federal Road Safety Commission Sector Commander Aliyu Baba told AFP.

"From the look of things and considering their condition, many of them might not survive."

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First Published: Jul 02 2019 | 8:15 PM IST

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