50 feared in Nigerian tanker inferno

KANO, Nigeria: A tanker truck overturned at an army checkpoint in central Nigeria, causing an inferno in which some 50 people were expired, an official of the Highway Safety said Saturday.

"A truck ran into a convoy of vehicles to an army checkpoint in the village of Narabe ... and fell on its side, spilling its contents, and caught fire," said Haruna Likong Albasha of the accident Friday night.

"Seventeen vehicles at the checkpoint were engulfed in flames .... In all of our estimate, we have about 50 expired."

The accident occurred near the border with the state of Bauchi Plateau State in central Nigeria.

Such accidents occur frequently in Nigeria, where roads are poorly maintained and traffic chaos is common.

Accident occurred Friday on the eve of elections throughout the country, the first of three rounds of voting history to be held this month.

Army checkpoints are common in West African countries, particularly in central Nigeria, which has been hit by years of clashes between Christian and Muslim ethnic groups.

In November, more than 30 people died in the northern state of Yobe, when two buses collided and burst into flames.

An accident of fire outside the commercial capital of Lagos in August burned at least 15 people dead and 18 wounded. - (AFP)