The death toll from the petrol tanker explosion in Jigawa State has risen to at least 153, marking one of the deadliest incidents in the North in recent years.
WikkiTimes had earlier reported that a petrol laden tanker driver enroute to Nguru Yobe state from Kano lost control and fell around 11:30pm on Tuesday in Majia, Taura LGA, near Khadija University.
Shortly after incident, residents scampered to scoop oil that spilled across the town waterways before it exploded and resulting to fire that claimed lives and caused severe injuries.
Images of the scene available to WikkiTimes showed people burnt beyond recognition while some had their body parts separated by the fire.
The police in the state said that the number of people who died as a result of the inferno from fuel tank has now reached 153 people.
About 100 others were injured and are being treated at five major hospitals including Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Jahun, Nguru, Hadejia and Gumel General Hospitals.
Witnesses told the BBC Hausa that the tanker was on fire for about two hours before firefighters managed to extinguish it.
The state governor, Umar Namadi, who led the mass burial of the victims on Wednesday, has promised to sponsor treatment of victims of the explosion.
The incident is coming barely a month after a similar incident killed 59 people in Niger state when an oil tanker collided with a truck carrying passengers and cattle.
