A gas tanker truck exploded at an industrial gas plant in southern Nigeria Thursday night, killing over 100 people and wounding dozens more.
The truck, in the predominantly Christian community of Nnewi, exploded as it was off-loading butane cooking gas.
A witness told the BBC Friday that the high casualty count is due to the dozens of people who headed to the site looking to fill gas canisters ahead of the Christmas Day meal.
A fire at the scene was still burning five hours later, he said, and had set several nearby homes aflame. The Red Cross is reportedly at the site.
A separate witness told the Vanguard magazine that the blast was caused by the truck's drivers not waiting for the gas to cool before beginning the unloading process.