Nigeria tanker blast kills 18 on Enugu-Onitsha expressway

Nigeria tanker blast kills 18 on Enugu-Onitsha expressway

Event date: 2025-01-25

At least 18 people died and 10 others were injured after a gasoline tanker exploded along the Enugu-Onitsha expressway in southeastern Nigeria’s Enugu State, according to AP. The tanker lost control, rammed into 17 vehicles and burst into flames, turning a busy road into a mass-casualty scene.

The Federal Road Safety Corps said those who died were burnt beyond recognition, underscoring the intensity of the fire. Rescuers also pulled out three people who were not hurt, while injured victims were treated after the crash. The report did not give a full list of victims or say whether any of the dead had been inside the other vehicles struck by the tanker.

The AP report said the crash happened after the tanker, laden with gasoline, lost control near the expressway. The detail that it hit 17 vehicles shows how quickly a fuel-tanker incident can escalate once a fire begins on a major road. Near-collision chain reactions are common in such disasters, especially where traffic is dense and emergency access is limited.

The blast also fits a wider pattern in Nigeria, where fatal truck accidents are common because rail freight remains underdeveloped and roads carry much of the cargo burden. Earlier in the month, AP noted, 98 people died in another tanker blast near Suleja after people tried to transfer gasoline from a crashed tanker using a generator. That earlier disaster triggered a nationwide campaign against scooping fuel from fallen tankers.

The report also linked the broader problem to high gasoline prices after the government removed subsidies more than a year ago. The policy change was meant to free resources for development, but it has added hardship and, in some cases, encouraged risky behaviour around spilled fuel because some people try to collect or resell it.

What matters in this case is the immediate toll and the mechanics of the accident. A tanker lost control, multiple vehicles were hit, the fuel ignited and people died in a fire hot enough to leave bodies unrecognisable. That is enough to show the scale of the disaster without exaggerating beyond the evidence.

The AP account did not say whether investigators had ruled on the exact cause of the loss of control, nor did it identify the driver. It did make clear, though, that the expressway crash added to a pattern of deadly fuel accidents that Nigerian authorities have been trying to stop.