Tragedy: Scores burnt to ashes, many shops razed as two tankers collide in Niger

Tragedy struck in Enagi, headquarters of Edati local government area of Niger state on Sunday when two tankers collided, leaving scores of people burnt to ashes and shops razed down.

One of the tankers was said to be carrying diesel while the other was loaded with petrol.

According to an eyewitness, the incident happened around one o’clock on Sunday.

The two tankers were said to have gone into flames immediately they collided with each other and this led to the burning of roadside shops along the busy highway.

Many people in the shops and others close to the incident were trapped and burnt to ashes while others sustained various degrees of injuries.

One of the eyewitnesses called Abubakar said the exact number of people burnt to ashes could not be ascertained immediately.

“What I can tell you is that we have seen three corpses while many others were seen burnt beyond recognition. We have also seen six motorcycles and three vehicles also burnt at the scene,” he said.

Another resident from the town called Usman Baba Emigi described the incident as very unfortunate, adding that the two tankers were still burning as at the time of going to press with the villagers looking helplessly as they could not go close to the shops to salvage some of the goods.

According to him, “many shops were burnt and Fire service from Kutigi and Road Safety are on ground to rescue the situation”.

Similar incidences had happened in the town in the past with many casualties, shops and residential houses razed down.

(Vanguard)