A fiery Nigerian tanker explosion has claimed 153 lives.

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October 17, 2924 | 05:00 PM ET

Abuja: Nigerian authorities said that 153 people had died as a result of an explosion involving a gasoline tanker in the country’s north.

Nigerian Police spokesman, Lawan Adam said 100 people had also been hospitalized after the tanker caught fire following a traffic accident as people swarmed around it to collect escaping gasoline. The accident happened on Tuesday in Majiya, a town in Jigawa state 540 kilometers (338 miles) north of the capital, Abuja.

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President Bola Tinubu said the country will undertake a “comprehensive review of fuel transportation and safety protocols,” while offering his condolences to the families of the victims.

The tanker driver lost control of his vehicle causing a crash, and “on realizing what happened, the residents started trooping with their containers to tap from the spilling oil,” Adam said.

Police tried to clear the scene and people who refused to leave were scooping up the fuel when the “tank exploded and caught them in the fire,” he added

Fatal incidents involving fuel theft aren’t uncommon in Nigeria. More than 1,000 people were burnt to death in Nigeria’s Delta State in 1998 when a punctured pipeline exploded.