A fuel tanker explosion in northern Nigeria has killed more than 140 people, a spokesman for the national emergency agency told AFP on Wednesday.

Victims were burnt to death on Tuesday trying to collect fuel that had spilt from the crashed vehicle in the town of Majia in Jigawa state.

Nura Abdullahi, a spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said “more than 140” people have been buried in a mass grave and warned the toll was likely to rise further.

The incident occurred in Majia town in the Taura local government area, about 530 kilometres north of the capital Abuja, spokesperson for Jigawa State Police Command Lawan Shiisu Adam told Reuters by telephone.

The wounded were taken to local hospitals in Ringim and Hadejia towns where they were being treated, Adam said.

A mass burial for the dead will be held later in the day, he said.

Many roads in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, are poorly maintained and riven with potholes, causing accidents that claim dozens of lives every year.

Last month, at least 48 people were killed in north-central Nigeria when a fuel tanker exploded after colliding with another truck carrying travellers and cattle, ensnaring other vehicles as well in the blaze.