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Death toll of Nigerian weekend tanker explosion rises to 85

Xinhua, June 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

The death toll from a tanker explosion in the southeastern Nigerian city of Onitsha in Anambra has risen to 85 as of Monday night, local authorities said on Tuesday.

Peter Katchy, the state Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Red Cross Society, told reporters that emergency workers picked 25 more dead bodies from the scene of the accident that occurred on Sunday.

He added that 29 others were still in critical conditions at various hospitals in the state.

The state police authority, health workers and local residents had said the oil tanker truck exploded Monday in a bus station, killing up to 60 and wounding dozens of others.

The petrol tanker lost control and exploded at a crowded bus station in Onitsha, the state capital, and started a huge fire that also spread to many other vehicles, including 15 buses.

The death toll may rise as some of the injured were being treated for severe burns. Endi