At least 105 corpses were buried on Wednesday in Majia, following the petrol tanker explosion in the community in Taura Local Government Area of Jigawa State, the police have said.
The police had earlier confirmed 94 deaths in the explosion which occurred late Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the police spokesperson in the state, Lawan Adam, said the 105 bodies were recovered from the scene after the fire subsided. Residents who spoke with our reporter corroborated the figure.
The state’s governor, Umar Namadi, attended the mass burial in Majia on Wednesday morning.
The police said about 70 other victims were receiving treatment at health facilities in Ringim and Hadejia.
According to the police spokesperson, the majority of the victims had gathered around the tanker to scoop fuel. The fuel had spilled and was flowing through the drainage to the outskirts of the village.
“Unfortunately, villagers attempted to scoop petrol from the drainage, resulting in a flame that engulfed…