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Over 70 Nigerians die in fuel truck fire
 More than 70 Nigerians were burnt to death when a tanker truck caught fire while they were gathering fuel that was spilling out of it, police in northern Kaduna state said on Wednesday. Crowds of local villagers had gathered with buckets and jerry cans after the truck carrying 33,000 litres of fuel went out of control and crashed onto its side. The victims were buried in a mass grave hours after the disaster. The accident happened on Monday evening. About an hour after the crash petrol started oozing out of the tanker so the local villagers decided to scoop. More than 70 lives were lost, said Kaduna state police spokesman Saad Yahaya. He said the driver of the truck had tried to warn the villagers about the danger of getting close to the tanker but they had ignored his advice. Such tragedies are common in Nigeria, where poverty and recurrent fuel shortages make the lure of free petrol irresistible to many.Posted by: Fred 2007-03-29 |
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