Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari confirmed the death of 23 people who were killed after a truck carrying petrol overturned and caught fire on a busy road in Lokoja on Thursday.
The incident happened in Kogi’s capital.
“The death of 23 people as confirmed by the Federal Road Safety Commission, represents another disturbing and saddening incident in the litany of tragedies that have befallen our country.”
“I am seriously worried about the frequency of these unfortunate and large scale tragedies in the country which cause needless deaths,” President Buhari said.
Reports claimed that the tanker driver was coming from Okene and heading towards the northern part of the country when it had a brake failure on the Lokoja-Abuja highway.
It fell on a car carrying a family, crushing them to death before bursting into flames.
The fire affected several vehicles including a bus that was carrying students from the state polytechnic,
The students were reportedly killed after the bus skidded off the road and caught fire.
The Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello sent his condolences to the victims’ families.
He also offered his sympathies to the students at the polytechnic “over the death of some of their colleagues”.
“It is very sad to learn of the tragic loss of lives, many vehicles, property and other valuables in the petrol tanker fire,” Bello said.
Traffic accidents are common in Nigeria, where roads are ill-maintained and safety standards poor.
