Tanker Explosion: Tinubu’s delegation in Jigawa as death toll rises to 153

More victims of the Jigawa tanker explosion have died while receiving treatment, raising the death toll to 153.

The police had earlier tallied 105 deaths from the explosion which occurred late Tuesday evening in Majia in the Taura Local Government Area of the state.

The police spokesperson in the state, Lawan Adam, said 153 people had lost their lives in the accident as of Thursday.

Mr Adam said about 100 victims were taken from the scene to hospitals in Kano, Nguru in Yobe State, and Dutse, Jahun, Hadejia, and Gumel in Jigawa.

Meanwhile, a delegation sent by President Bola Tinubu on Thursday condoled with families of the deceased persons in Majia town after visiting some of the victims at the Rasheed Shekoni Specialists Hospital in Dutse.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, who led the delegation, said the president was saddened by the loss of lives and directed an immediate investigation of the incident.

“So many lives have been lost, and we have visited some of the survivors in the hospital. The President himself had directed an immediate investigation of what happened by the Federal Road Safety Corps,” Mr Akume said.

“Not just this particular incident but other similar ones in the country. The whole purpose is to reduce the number of fatalities. The President is saddened by the unfortunate development, and he has directed some agencies to move into action.

“He has promised that whatever the state government is doing, the federal government will complement that effort,” Mr Akume said.

Governor Umar Namadi, who had swiftly visited the scene of the accident and joined in performing the funeral prayer for the deceased, described the incident as the greatest tragedy to befall the state.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims during this painful time. We stand in solidarity with those who have lost loved ones and those injured in this tragic incident,” the governor said in a statement by his media aide, Hamisu Gumel.

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Mr Namadi said the state government would pick the bills of all the survivors receiving treatment in the various hospitals.

Other members of the federal government delegation were the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru; Minister of Transportation, Saidu Alkali; Corps Marshall of the Federal Roads Safety Commission (FRSC), Shehu Mohammed; and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (North West), Abdullahi Yakasai.