At least 50 people have been killed in central Nigeria’s Niger state, after a fuel tanker collided with a lorry carrying passengers and cattle, the country’s disaster agency said.

The Niger State Emergency Management Agency said the collision happened at about 00:30 local time on Sunday (23:30 GMT Saturday), and caused an explosion which engulfed both vehicles.

Director-general of the agency, Abdullahi Baba-arah, said response teams were dispatched to the scene to manage the situation.

A number of other vehicles were also caught up in the explosion.

Footage taken from the scene shortly after the incident shows the two vehicles, which have been entirely burnt out, as well as a number of dead cattle.

Speaking to the Reuters news agency after the incident, an emergency rescue worker said they were attempting to recover bodies, as well as dead animals which were still inside the vehicle.

Emergency agency spokesperson Hussain Ibrahim told the BBC that funerals took place for the victims on Sunday.

“We had a mass burial for 52 people yesterday and we have eight people receiving treatment at the hospital,” he said.

“This without doubt is the worst accident we have recorded in many years.”

He added that the Niger state government is footing the hospital bill for those injured.

Governor Umaru Bago said he was “pained by the unfortunate incident” in a condolence message to the families of the victims.

Fuel tanker explosions and accidents are common in Nigeria, partly due to the poor state of roads.

Source: BBC