No fewer than 73 people admitted at public hospitals in Jigawa State after fuel tanker explosion in Majiya town in the Taura Local Government have been declared dead by medical experts, increasing the death toll from the disaster to 167.
The 73 patients, who survived the explosion earlier, were said to have suffered about 80 percent degree of burns during the explosion, resulting in their death at the hospital.
Sources at the hospitals narrated that the victims had suffered severe burns before emergency officials rescued them from the scene.
They added that due to the burns, medical experts’ efforts to rescue the victims could not yield the desired results.
The State Governor, Umar Namadi, disclosed this yesterday during his Kano counterpart, Abba Yusuf, paid him a condolence visit at the Government House in Dutse, the state capital.
He disclosed that no fewer than 67 people are currently receiving medical treatment at various medical facilities within and outside the state.
The governor expressed deep gratitude on behalf of the people of Jigawa State and thanked Kano State for its generous support during this difficult time.
He assured that the N100 million donated by the Kano State Government would be judiciously used to aid the victims of the unfortunate incident and their families.
It would be recalled that the explosion occurred on Tuesday when the residents were scooping fuel from a fallen tanker in the community.
Eyewitnesses narrated that many that had scooped fuel kept them in safe locations but returned to the scene after realizing that the content was still dropping from the ill-fated truck.
The Guild, meanwhile, learnt that the truck fell while trying to navigating the Majiya community without experiencing accident after experiencing brake failure.
