An unspecified number of people have lost their lives in an explosion involving a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) tanker in the nation's capital, Abuja.

The incident occurred in the evening of Wednesday, March 19, 2025, near the Karu Bridge.

In a video making the rounds online, a voice can be heard urgently calling for help, while reporting that the CNG tanker had exploded and trapped motorists were burning.

According to witnesses, the truck lost control near the Karu Bridge, situated between Kugbo and Nyanya on the Abuja-Keffi Expressway.

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The Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Department (FEMD) confirmed the incident, stating that the explosion occurred at around 7:14 p.m. on Wednesday.

In a statement signed by its Head of Public Affairs, Nkechi Isa, the FEMD’s Head of Forecasting Response and Mitigation, Mark Nyam, explained that the accident occurred when the driver of the CNG truck lost control and collided with other vehicles, leading to the explosion.

“A ghastly motor accident has occurred at the Karu bridge between Kugbo and Nyanya in the FCT. The accident, which occurred at about 7.14 this evening, involved a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) truck and other vehicles.

“According to the Head of Forecasting Response and Mitigation division of FEMA, Mr Mark Nyam, the accident occurred when the driver of the CNG truck lost control on the bridge there by running into other motorists and leading to an explosion,” the statement read.

Nyam added that the search and rescue teams of the FEMD, the Federal Fire Service, the FCT Fire Service, the Nigeria Police Force, and the National Emergency Management Agency were on the ground to rescue the casualties.

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