Death toll from the petrol tanker explosion at Dikko Junction, Niger State, has risen to 86, with 55 others wounded.
The Director-General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, Abdullahi Baba-Arah, revealed this on Sunday.
He said more bodies were recovered after the incident and all have been given a mass burial in Dikko, Niger State.
He said the agency, with Gurara Local Government Area and volunteers, undertook the mass burial between 5 pm and midnight.
“A total of 86 persons have been confirmed dead, with their corpses recovered and buried.
“Eighty of them were buried in a mass grave at Dikko Primary Healthcare Centre premises, while five were taken by their relatives for burial in the town, and one died at Dikko Primary Healthcare Centre.
“The mass burial was carried out by NSEMA in collaboration with Gurara LGA and courageous volunteers between the hours of 5pm and midnight.
“The number of injured now stands at 55, with one death recorded at Dikko PHC,” Baba-Arah stated.
A fuel tanker in a speed fell off on Saturday morning at Dikko Junction, located between Niger and Kaduna states.
Residents went to scoop fuel spilling onto the tarred road from the tanker, it exploded in a massive blaze. The explosion killed both those collecting fuel and others attempting to rescue them.
