No fewer than 30 people have been confirmed dead, and more than 50 cattle were burned in a tragic truck explosion involving Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in the Agaie Local Government Area of Niger State.
The deadly incident occurred around 12:30 a.m. on Sunday along the Lapai-Agaie road, about two kilometers from Dendo Community.
The Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Hon. Abdullahi Baba Arah, confirmed the incident in a statement issued to journalists in Minna, the state capital.
Baba Arah explained that the explosion occurred when a petrol tanker carrying PMS collided with an open-body truck transporting travelers and livestock from Wudil, Kano State, to Lagos. The collision caused a fire that also engulfed two other vehicles—a crane truck and a pickup van.
“The tragic incident has so far claimed over 30 lives, and more than 50 cattle have been burnt alive,” Baba Arah said. He added that the NSEMA’s Rapid Response Team (RRT), working with Local Government Emergency Management Committees, was still at the scene, conducting search and rescue operations as several bodies remained trapped inside the vehicles.
Authorities continue to assess the full extent of the damage as efforts to recover more victims are ongoing.
