The official death toll in the Agaiere region in the state of Niger was 48 on Sunday evening. Local media report that the victims were immediately buried in a mass grave.
The truck was traveling from Wudil in the state of Kano, with an extensive load of livestock in addition to the passengers.
About 50 livestock were also burned beyond recognition in the collision with the tanker.
The head of the rescue service, Abdullahi Baba-Arab, said that they initially found 30 fatalities at the accident site, but the death toll rose when they were able to explore the vehicles involved in the severe crash.
Accidents with trucks are a common occurrence on Nigeria's roads. A large part of the transportation takes place on roads since there is a lack of developed rail traffic. Moreover, accidents with tankers carrying fuel and gasoline have become a problem, according to Baba-Arab of the rescue service.
The latest statistics, according to the news agency AP, from 2020 showed that over 1,500 accidents occurred with tankers carrying gasoline, resulting in over 500 deaths.
