Nigeria
An ominous cloud of smoke permeated the capital city Lokoja of Kogi state in Central Nigeria on Wednesday after a driver coming from Okene and heading towards the northern part of the country lost control of a truck carrying petrol due to a brake failure that saw the vehicle swerve off the road, overturn and catch fire.
The accident took place on the busy Lokoja-Abuja highway, and many vehicles, including a bus conveying students of the state polytechnic, were burnt in the inferno.
Local media outlets report that around 20 people including students and passers-by, might have lost their lives in the fire and Kogi state governor Yahaya Bello offered his condolences to the victims and their families in a public statement.
Nigeria’s ill-maintained roads often see fuel truck accidents.
In July, at least three people were killed in a similar incident where a fuel truck also overturned and split its cargo in the southern Delta state.
Go to video
Nigerians struggle with fuel shortages as queues form across major cities
Go to video
Bomb attack in northern Kenya kills 5 people near the border with Somalia
01:29
Kenya: Several people feared dead after boat capsizes in flood-hit east
00:50
Kenya: 44 people die due to flooding
Go to video
British police charge two men after Channel migrant deaths
01:42
Gaza doctors deliver baby girl from mother killed in Israeli airstrike