At least 60 people were killed and some injured in northern Nigeria on Monday after a tanker truck overturned, spilling gasoline and exploding, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRC) said, Reuters reported.
The incident in Niger state followed a similar explosion in Jigawa state last October that killed 147 people, one of the worst such tragedies in Africa's most populous country, BTA reports.
Kumar Tsukwam, the FRC commander in Niger state, said most of the victims were poor locals who rushed to collect spilled gasoline after the truck overturned.
"The tanker exploded in flames that engulfed another tanker. So far, 60 bodies have been found at the scene of the incident," Tsukwam's statement said.