From Justina Asishana, Minna

Forty-nine shops and four houses were burnt down in the fire that resulted as a fuel tanker collided with a trailer in the Lambata area of Gurara Local Government Area of Niger State.

The tanker and trailer also went up in flames.

The incident happened at 11pm on Sunday night.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said the trailer was loaded with rice husks and was parked by the roadside when the fuel tanker coming from Minna direction lost control and rammed into it.

The tanker burst into flames seconds later, burning the two vehicles beyond recognition.

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Shops and residential houses across the road also got burnt.

The whereabouts of drivers of both vehicles were unknown at press time, but officials said no one died in the incident.

The state fire service from Suleja put out the fire in the early hours on Monday.

Monday morning, traders who rushed to the scene lamented that the fire burnt everything they had in their shops.

Juliana Aluko, a widow with six children, said she could not salvage anything from her shop.

Governor Sani Bello in a statement by his chief press secretary Mrs Mary Berje on Monday commiserated with people who were afftected by the incident, saying that his government would “support them to ease their losses”.