20 killed in Nigeria oil tanker explosion

The explosion may have been caused by fire ignition from a spark caused by a phone which was held by one of the persons scooping fuel spelt from the tanker, media reported on Monday. 

The blast, that occurred on the Lagos-Benin Expressway, caused a massive blaze with a thick black plume of smoke that engulfed the entire area as onlookers rushed to the site to take stock of the situation.

Several fire fighter trucks were dispatched to the scene in Ondo state after the intervention of the Ondo State Government.

Cyriacus, an eyewitness, told the Nigeria-based outlet The Nation that he and his friends were inside the church when the tanker spilt its contents on the road and the fire led to a blast.

Some people, he said, rushed to scoop fuel despite being warned by their clergy about the dangers of meandering about the area. The pregnant woman who died on the spot was reported to have brought N100,000 to buy the fuel from the tanker. 

SKH/PR