Many killed in Nigeria fuel tanker explosion
Abuja, June 29 : Scores of people were feared dead on Thursday evening when a fuel-laden tanker exploded amid traffic in Nigeria's commercial city of Lagos, with the blaze engulfing many vehicles, media reports said.
The crash occurred on a bridge as the tanker headed out of Lagos, toward the 127.6 km Lagos-Ibadan expressway in Nigeria's southwest region, Xinhua reported.
The local Channels Television reported that traffic has been stopped on both sides of the road and emergency officials are at the scene trying to put out the fire and attend to those affected. Many people were seen trapped in their cars amid the raging fire, eyewitnesses said.
There was a mild traffic on the bridge when the explosion occurred, said Gbolahan Adebisi, a commercial bus driver who witnessed the incident.
Local emergency officials said about 60 vehicles were seen to have been affected by the fire so far.
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Congress has no future: BJP on Chidambaram's remark on INDIA alliance
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Friday took a swipe at the Congress over its leader P Chidambaram's remark on the opposition INDIA alliance, saying even Rahul Gandhi's "close aide" know that the party has no future.
Chidambaram had on Thursday voiced concerns over the INDIA bloc, saying he was not sure if the opposition alliance was still intact.
Latching on to Chidambaram's remarks, BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said in a post on X, "Congress Leader P Chidambaram predicts: 'Opposition will not be intact in future, BJP is a formidable organisation'."
"Even Rahul Gandhi's close aides know Congress has no future," he added.
Speaking at the launch of Salman Khurshid and Mritunjay Singh Yadav's book "Contesting Democratic Deficit", Chidambaram said, "The future (of INDIA bloc) is not so bright, as Mritunjay Singh Yadav said. He seems to feel that the alliance is still intact, but I am not sure".
"It is only Salman (Khurshid) who can answer because he was part of the negotiating team for the INDIA bloc. If the alliance is totally intact, I will be very happy. But it shows at the seams that it is frayed," the Rajya Sabha MP said.
He also hoped that the alliance can "still be put together, there's still time".
The former Union finance minister warned that the INDIA bloc was fighting against a "formidable machinery", which must be fought on all fronts.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) of opposition parties came together ahead of the last Lok Sabha elections to counter the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance at the Centre.
