Fuel Tanker Truck Blast Kills at Least 60 in Nigeria

Nigerian Police officers deploy ahead of an anti government demonstration in Lagos, on October 1, 2024. (Photo by Olympia DE MAISMONT / AFP)
Nigerian Police officers deploy ahead of an anti government demonstration in Lagos, on October 1, 2024. (Photo by Olympia DE MAISMONT / AFP)
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Fuel Tanker Truck Blast Kills at Least 60 in Nigeria

Nigerian Police officers deploy ahead of an anti government demonstration in Lagos, on October 1, 2024. (Photo by Olympia DE MAISMONT / AFP)
Nigerian Police officers deploy ahead of an anti government demonstration in Lagos, on October 1, 2024. (Photo by Olympia DE MAISMONT / AFP)

At least 60 people were killed and others injured in northern Nigeria on Saturday when a petrol tanker truck overturned, spilling petrol that exploded, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said.

The accident in Niger state follows a similar blast in Jigawa state last October that killed 147 people, one of the worst such tragedies in Africa's most populous nation, Reuters reported.

Kumar Tsukwam, FRSC sector commander for Niger state, said most of the victims were impoverished local residents who had rushed to scoop up the spilled petrol after the truck overturned.

"The tanker burst into flames, engulfing another tanker. So far 60 corpses (have been) recovered from the scene," Tsukwam said in a statement.



Israel Tells Worried Members of Iran’s Security Services to Contact Mossad

 Huge smoke rises up from an oil facility facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike Saturday, in southern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)
Huge smoke rises up from an oil facility facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike Saturday, in southern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)
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Israel Tells Worried Members of Iran’s Security Services to Contact Mossad

 Huge smoke rises up from an oil facility facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike Saturday, in southern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)
Huge smoke rises up from an oil facility facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike Saturday, in southern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)

The Israeli military is urging members of the Iranian security services to contact Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, claiming they had been receiving messages from officials worried about Iran’s “uncertain future.”

There was no immediate way to independently verify the claim.

In a post on the social platform X in Farsi, the Israeli military provided a website and urged users to employ a virtual private network before attempting contact.

“Even those who identify themselves as members of the regime’s security institutions express their fear, despair, and anger at what is happening in Iran and ask us to contact Israeli authorities - so that Iran does not suffer the same fate as Lebanon and Gaza,” the message added.

The message did not elaborate. However, it comes as Iran is in a frenzy over spies, prompting warnings to officials to abandon certain devices, apps and web services.

The internet was down in Iran late Wednesday afternoon. Authorities offered no immediate explanation.