A fuel tanker exploded after colliding with a truck carrying passengers and cattle in northern Nigeria, killing at least 59 people, a rescue agency said on Monday.

Initially, 48 people were reported killed in the incident in north-central Nigeria on Sunday.

Photographs released by the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) showed workers burying more than a dozen blackened and charred bodies of victims from Sunday’s early morning incident.

Images showed burned-out shells of the vehicles, one still billowing with smoke and flames after the incident in Niger’s Agaie local government district.

Ibrahim Husseini, the spokesman for the Niger SEMA, told AFP that the number of fatalities had risen to 59 on Monday from an earlier toll of 52 when more victims were discovered in the wreckage and one of the injured died.

On Sunday, most of the victims were given a mass burial. “It is possible that more dead bodies could be discovered,” Husseini said in a text message.

The explosion happened after a petrol tanker loaded with PMS (fuel) collided with a trailer truck loaded with travellers and cattle, according to SEMA. Two other vehicles, a crane and a pickup truck, were also involved, it added, while more than 50 cattle were burnt alive.

Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago expressed sadness over the “colossal” loss, urging local residents to remain calm.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s office said that the president had “directed relevant federal agencies in transportation and road infrastructure to redouble their efforts and work with state governments to enhance the safety and security of travellers and residents”.

Fuel tanker explosions are common in Africa’s most populous nation, where roads can be poorly maintained, and residents often look to siphon off fuel following accidents.

According to the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), more than 5,000 people died in road accidents in Nigeria in 2023, compared to nearly 6,500 the previous year.

However, according to the World Health Organisation, the figures do not take into account accidents not reported to the authorities. It estimates annual road accident deaths in Nigeria to be nearly 40,000, in a report published last year.

Fires and theft

Deadly fires and explosions also happen in the fuel and oil infrastructure in Nigeria, one of the continent’s largest crude producers where petroleum theft is a major issue.

Accidents involving tankers are frequent in the country, with the FRSC recording 1,531, causing 535 deaths, in 2020. Two years ago, around 110 people died when an illegal oil refinery exploded in southern Nigeria.

Nigeria recently faced serious fuel shortages after the National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL) said it was struggling with debts to suppliers. A sudden increase in fuel prices by NNPCL last week has added to the financial burden for Nigerians already coping with a cost-of-living crisis.