The death toll from the tanker explosion which rocked Dikko, Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State, has hit 98.

The incident occurred last Saturday when a fuel-laden tanker crashed and discharged its content.

Director-General, Niger State Emergency Management Agency, Abdullahi Baba-Arah, gave an update on the development in a statement on Monday.

He said the explosion occurred on Saturday when a tanker conveying petrol crashed and another tanker was brought to transfer the contents.

Northern senators mourn victims of tanker explosion in Niger

Niger tanker explosion: 86 buried, 43 hospitalised, others missing

He said 69 persons were injured while over 20 shops were destroyed in the incident.

President Bola Tinubu had since set up a high-level committee to investigate the alarming cases of tanker explosions on the nation’s highways.

The state government had also called on the federal government to expedite action on the Minna-Suleja road project, which had been blamed for the frequent accidents in the area.