Fifty-nine people have been confirmed dead in central Nigeria's Niger state, after a fuel tanker collided with a lorry carrying passengers and cattle, the state emergency agency said, Azernews reports citing BBC.

The Niger State Emergency Management Agency said the collision happened at about 00:30 local time on Sunday, and caused an explosion which engulfed both vehicles.

Director-general of the agency, Abdullahi Baba-arah, said response teams were dispatched to the scene to manage the situation.

A number of other vehicles were also caught up in the explosion.

Hussain Ibrahim, spokesman for the Niger state emergency unit, told the BBC that the death toll could rise even higher.

"The death toll has now risen to 59 after one of those badly injured died at the hospital and from more discoveries at the site of the accident.

"It's also possible that more dead bodies could be discovered in the process of the continued evacuation," he added.