At least 70 people were burnt to death in Nigeria when a fuel tanker exploded, setting fire to five packed minibuses in the southern state of Anambra.
Officials told local media the tanker overturned after it hit a pothole on the Enugu-Onitsha highway on Friday, sparking the massive blaze.
They said the death toll could rise as the charred remains of the victims were recovered from the minibuses.
"The six commuter buses were full of passengers and only 17 can be confirmed as those that escaped ... so the number of dead could be 70 or more," This Day newspaper quoted the local operations commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission as saying.
A transport official warned that more accidents were likely if nothing was done to improve Nigeria's road network.
"If something isn't done quickly, tragedies like this will happen again," Ben Ekenna of the Federal Road Safety Commission was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.
He said several other people were badly wounded in the accident and were taken to local hospitals.
Accidents on Nigeria's poorly-maintained roads are common.
Congested roads in Africa's most populous nation are poorly maintained, riven with gullies and potholes large enough to swallow cars.
Accidents are frequent, particularly at night with vehicles poorly lit, although the death toll is rarely so high.
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