69 people killed as fuel tanker crashed in Nigeria

Abuja, June 2: At least 69 people were killed and 35 injured after a fuel tanker crashed into a bus stop in Nigeria, media reported.

The incident took place at a busy bus stop in the city of Onitsha in southeast Nigeria on Monday, CNN reported.

"There is a likelihood that the death toll will go up," said Umar Abdou Mairiga, Nigeria's Red Cross coordinator.

Fire service officials arrived at the accident site where 12 buses were destroyed but no major buildings were affected.

The accident was reported when Nigeria struggles with a nationwide fuel shortage after fuel industry companies claimed the Nigerian government owed them$1 billion in unpaid bills.

Fuel prices have gone up with the shortage, and at accidents such as this, often people run forward to try to siphon as much fuel from the spill in buckets as possible.

In 2012, over 100 people died as they tried to collect fuel from an overturned tanker that caught fire in nearby Rivers state.

OneIndia News