- Police Command Commence Investigation Into Incident
- Welcome Any Useful Information That Will Aid Investigation
- Remi Tinubu Donates N100m To Niger State Tanker Explosion Victims
- Death Toll From Enugu Tanker Explosion Climbs To 23
A tragedy of monumental proportions was averted on Tuesday, February 2025 after two petrol-laden tankers at an MRS filling station along the Numan Road, opposite the Jezco filling station near the Yola International Airport were gutted by fire.
Nigeria has a history of petrol tanker explosions.
In 2025 alone, the country has experienced no fewer than 3 petrol tanker explosions.
Earlier in January 2025, at least five persons were killed when a tanker ladened with petrol lost control and burst into flames in the Agbor area of Delta State.
At least 86 persons died and 55 others were injured on Saturday, January 18, 2025, whilst scooping fuel from a fallen tanker in Niger State.
In October 2024, a fuel tanker explosion in Jigawa State killed more than 170 people, with scores injured.
At least 59 people died in September 2024 when a fuel tanker collided with a truck carrying passengers and cattle in northwestern Niger state.
Reacting to the latest explosion, the Adamawa State Police Command stated that no life was lost in the incident that occurred at the MRS filling station at Batchure junction, along Numan Road, on Tuesday.
According to a statement via the command’s X handle, an investigation has been launched to ascertain the level of damage and circumstances behind the incident.
It added that the efforts of the men from the fire service and its operational unit were enough to put the fire under control.
“The Adamawa State Police Command commenced investigation into the fire incident that affected MRS filling station, Batchure junction, along Numan Road tonight.
READ ALSO: NSCDC Advocates Ban On Daytime Movement Of Fuel Tankers To Prevent Explosions
“The immediate response from the command’s operational unit and that of firefighters brought the fire under control.
“The Commissioner of Police CP Dankombo Morris while welcoming any useful information that will aid the investigation, equally assured of the command’s commitment to safeguarding lives and property in the state,” read the post on X.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the tanker explosion on the Ugwu-Onyeama axis of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway has risen to 23.
The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Enugu State Command, Franklin Agbakoba, confirmed this on Tuesday in Enugu, adding that two additional female victims had recently died while receiving treatment in hospital.
It was gathered that the deceased were evacuated by FRSC officers after officials of the Enugu State Fire Service extinguished the inferno, while the injured were taken to hospitals within Enugu for treatment.
The death toll rose to 18 a day after the accident, 21 after four days, and has now reached 23.
READ ALSO: First Lady Tinubu Donates N100m To Niger State Tanker Explosion Victims
Agbakoba stated that the two additional victims—one admitted at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, UNTH, Ituku-Ozalla, and another at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu—succumbed to their injuries after battling for about a week.
According to him, of the five patients admitted to UNTH six days ago, one had died at the end of the month, while one female patient remains hospitalised.
“The remaining three patients in UNTH, who are from the same family, secured discharge against medical advice and relocated from the teaching hospital to seek traditional medical treatment for their injuries at home,” he said.
Regarding the five victims admitted to ESUTH Teaching Hospital, Parklane, Enugu, Agbakoba said three female victims remain hospitalised.
“Two of the admitted patients in ESUTH Teaching Hospital have been referred to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu, due to severe burns,” he said.
He further stated that of the three victims admitted to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu, six days ago, one had recently died, while the two survivors had been joined by another victim referred from ESUTH Teaching Hospital.
Agbakoba had earlier disclosed that the incident involved 44 people as well as 16 vehicles, both commercial and private, and a commercial tricycle.
