A fuel tanker exploded after colliding with a truck carrying passengers and cattle in northern Nigeria’s Niger State killing at least 52 people, a rescue agency said on Monday.

Photographs released by the Niger State Emergency Management Agency or 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, spokesman for the Niger SEMA, told AFP the victims were given a mass burial following the accident and explosion.

“The incident occurred when a petrol tanker loaded with PMS (fuel) collided with a trailer truck loaded with travelers and cattle,” a SEMA statement said.

Two other vehicles, a crane and a pickup van, were also involved, it added.

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

More than 50 cattle were also burnt alive.

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.

But according to the World Health Organization, 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.

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.

Two years ago, around 110 people died when an illegal oil refinery exploded in the south of the country.

Nigeria recently has faced serious fuel shortages after the Nigerian 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.