Warri, Sept 11: A witness says 18 people are dead and more than 40 others have burns after a gas explosion in central Nigeria. Taxi driver Yakubu Charles says Monday's blast occurred at a gas depot in Lafia, capital of Nasarawa state. He helped to evacuate victims after more than a dozen occupied vehicles burned.

The Nigeria Police Force and Federal Road Safety Corps confirm the blast but decline to give a number of casualties. Nigeria's Senate president, Bukola Saraki, in a Twitter post calls the explosion "horrific" and says he met with survivors. He offers prayers for families who lost relatives.

Many gas dealers operate mini-depots in Nigerian cities with no strong measures to regulate their activities, leading to frequent explosions. In January, 10 people died in a blast in Lagos state.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)