At least 48 people and about 50 cattle were burnt beyond recognition in an accident near Man-Woro village along Agaie-Bida road in Niger State, on Sunday.

The accident involved a petrol laden tanker, a truck with cattle and a passenger vehicle.

The victims in the trailer with cattle were said to have taken off from Wudil, Kano State, heading for Lagos, while the passenger vehicle was reportedly going to Agaie Sunday market.

While it was reported that the petrol tanker had a head-on collision with a trailer truck loaded with travelers and cattle from Wudil, another account had it that the petrol tanker fell due to the bad road and caught fire.

A resident, Abubakar Agaie, told journalists that 45 bodies were buried during a mass burial at Man-Woro village on Sunday.

Alhaji Wuchiko, a commercial driver, said he conveyed the driver of the tanker and another victim to Lapai General Hospital, adding that some survivors were taken to Federal Medical Centre, Bida.

It was gathered that the tanker fell while trying to meander through the deplorable Agaie-Bida road.

Another witness, Yahaya Mohammed, said they counted 45 corpses that were identified as human bodies, saying that the victims were burnt beyond recognition.

“The three vehicles were burnt down completely. As I speak with, we have counted 45 dead bodies that we could be able to recognize as human beings.

“What happened was that, the tanker fell down and cut fire. The other two vehicles; a passenger vehicle and a trailer loaded with goods and human beings, seeing the fire wanted to pass and they fell victim,” Mohammed explained.

The Director General, Niger State Emergency Management Agency, Alhaji Abdullahi Baba Arah, confirmed the incident.

The Director General who gave the update on Sunday, also confirmed that 48 persons whose bodies were burnt beyond recognition had been given mass burial in the local government.

According to him, following further search and rescue operations 18 more bodies were recovered from the 30 bodies earlier reported.

Arah said, “Over 30 people are already confirmed dead, with over 50 cattle burnt alive. NSEMA’s Rapid Respond Team (RRT), in conjunction with LGEMCs, is still on scene of the incidence conducting search and response operation as more corpses are still trapped inside the trucks.

“Following further search and rescue operations, my agency discovered 18 more bodies which were also burnt to death and all the dead have been given mass burial,” he said.

Baba Arah also disclosed that over 50 cattle were also burnt alive and two other vehicles, a crane truck and a pickup van were caught in the inferno.

The NSEMA statements read, “NSEMA has received a report of a deadly tanker explosion that occurred on Sunday, the 8th of September, 2024, at about 12.30 am along Lapai-Agaie, 2km from Dendo Community in Agaie LGA.

“The incident occurred when a petrol tanker loaded with PMS collided with a trailer truck loaded with travellers and cattle from Wudil in Kano State heading to Lagos, two other vehicles, a crane truck and a pickup van were also caught in the incident.”