A fuel tanker exploded after flipping over in central Nigeria on Saturday killing 70 people who had rushed in to take the fuel, whose price has skyrocketed during the economic crisis. 

"The death toll stands at 70 so far," Kumar Tsukwam, the head of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Niger State, told AFP by telephone. 

Tsukwam said a truck carrying 60,000 litres of gasoline had an accident around 10:00 am (0900 GMT) at the Dikko junction on the road linking the federal capital Abuja to the northern city of Kaduna.

"Most of the victims were burnt beyond recognition," Tsukwam said. "We are at the scene to clear things up."

An FSRC statement said a "large crowd of people gathered to scoop the fuel" when "suddenly the tanker burst into flames, engulfing another tanker".

"So far 60 corpses recovered from scene, the victims are mostly scavengers," it said.

Niger State Governor Umaru Bago said in a separate statement that an undisclosed number of people had also experienced various degrees of burns.

Last year, shortly after his election, President Bola Tinubu abolished a fuel subsidy.

That sent prices of essentials and other goods soaring, triggering protests. 

The price of gasoline has increased fivefold in 18 months. That has led many to risk their lives to recover fuel during tanker truck accidents, which are common in Africa's most populous country. 

Inflation has been running at over 30 percent for the past year, and a report late last year jointly written by Nigerian authorities, the United Nations and NGOs said that more than 33 million of Nigeria's roughly 230 million people would go hungry in 2025.

Niger State's Bago said the explosion was "worrisome, heartbreaking and unfortunate", but he added that people should "always be responsible and give priority to their safety".

In October, more than 170 people died in a similar incident in Jigawa State, in northern Nigeria. 

In 2020, the FRSC listed 1,531 fuel tanker accidents which claimed over 535 lives.