Nigeria explosion: 140 killed in Majiya [Video]

ABUJA, Nigeria –

More than 140 people, including children, were killed in Nigeria when an overturned gasoline tanker truck exploded in flames while they tried to scoop up fuel, emergency services said Wednesday. Dozens more were injured.

Deadly tanker accidents are common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, which lacks an efficient railway system to transport cargo. People often salvage fuel with cups and buckets — especially because of soaring fuel prices, which have tripled since the government ended costly gas subsidies last year.

The latest accident occurred at midnight in northern Jigawa state’s Majiya town when the tanker driver lost control on a highway, police spokesperson Lawan Adam said. Residents rushed to the scene before the “massive inferno.”