At least 70 people have died after a petrol tanker exploded in north-central Nigeria, the country’s emergency forces have said.

The blast took place in the early hours of Saturday morning after a group of people attempted to move fuel from one tanker into another using a generator.

Kumar Tsukwam, from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), said most of the victims were local residents who had stopped to scoop up the spilled petrol after the truck overturned.

“[A] large crowd of people gathered to scoop fuel despite concerted efforts to stop them,” Mr Tsukwam said in an earlier statement.

“Suddenly, the tanker burst into flames, engulfing another tanker. So far 60 corpses [have been] recovered from the scene.”

Such accidents have become common in Africa’s largest oil producer, killing dozens as the country grapples with its worst cost of living crisis in a generation.

The price of petrol has soared more than 400% since May 2023, when the president scrapped a decades-old subsidy.

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In September, an explosion killed at least 48 people in Niger state after a fuel tanker collided with another truck carrying cattle.

There were 1,531 fuel tanker crashes in 2020 resulting in 535 fatalities and 1,142 injuries, according to the FRSC.