LAGOS, Nigeria

At least seven people were killed and over 50 houses burned after a petrol tanker exploded in a residential area in Nigeria’s north-central Benue state, an official said on Monday.

Emmanuel Shior, executive director of the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), told journalists in the state capital Makurdi that the explosion occurred after a tanker carrying petrol crashed into a house in Oshigudu, Agatu local government area on Sunday evening.

He said the accident scene is being cleared, adding the state government would provide aid to the affected families.

Residents said about a dozen of people were also injured in the accident.

Cases of oil tanker explosions on Nigerian roads have been on the rise, prompting the Department for Petroleum Resources, the national regulatory body for gas marketing, to issue strict safety guidelines.