Toll in Nigeria tanker explosion rises to 85

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

Peter Katchy, the state vice-chairman of the Nigerian Red Cross Society, told reporters that emergency workers picked up 25 more bodies from the scene of the accident that occurred on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.

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

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

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

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