LAGOS, Nigeria

At least 60 people were killed and scores of others injured when an oil tanker exploded in northern Nigeria on Saturday, senior officials said.

Kumar Tsukwam, the commander of Niger State's Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), confirmed the incident in the Suleja Local Government Area, saying scores of others were injured while attempting to scoop fuel from a petrol tanker that had spilled on the road.

“So far, 60 corpses have been recovered from the scene,” Tsukwam said in a statement. He, however, added that all FRSC personnel and other agencies are still on the scene carrying out rescue operations.

In a separate statement, Abdullahi Baba-Arah, director general of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), explained that the explosion occurred when one oil tanker collided with another tanker and later attempted to transfer the oil.

While this was going on, the petrol came into contact with a generator used to complete the transfer, resulting in an explosion that killed and injured many.

He added that property valued at millions of naira, the currency of the West African nation, which currently exchanges at about 1,560 to the US dollar, was destroyed in the blaze.