Sixty-nine people have been reported dead in Nigeria, many of them burnt alive, after an oil tanker rammed into a crowded bus station and exploded, incinerating 12 buses, in the southeastern city of Onitsha on Sunday, Red Cross officials told the New York Times.
Nigeria Red Cross official Peter Emeka Katchy said that about 30 others had been severely burned in the accident and were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Katchy said that the tanker's brakes failed, while it was going downhill, before crashing into the bus station and blowing it up.
Willie Obiano, Governor of Anambra, had tears in his eyes when he visited the accident spot.
The Los Angeles Times said relatives have been visiting morgues since the incident in order to identify missing family members.
The accident takes place amid growing concerns in Nigeria over the short supply of fuel in the country after oil companies claimed that the Nigerian government owes them $1 billion in unpaid bills, according to CNN.
Two years ago, over 100 people were killed in a fire as they attempted to get oil from a tanker that had capsized in southern Nigeria.
Joseph Ugwuanyi, who witnessed the incident, wrote on his Facebook page that the fire continued to burn for an hour before it was brought under control, according to the New York Times story.
