According to an official from the Zinder governorate, six people died in a fuel truck explosion that crashed in central-southern Niger on Sunday.

This is after two trucks collided and rolled over at Tirmini, about 10 kilometers (six miles) from the town of Zinder.

Further, the official revealed that four people were killed in the blast, and two others died at the local hospital from their burns.

"Six people were killed and about 30 injured in the explosion... when they tried to obtain fuel," the official told AFP.

According to the Zinder-Infos website, residents came running to siphon off fuel from the trucks when one of the vehicles caught fire, Tirmini's mayor told Zinder-Infos.

An oil refining company operates at Zinder, around 1,000 kilometers from Niamey's capital.

In May 2019, 76 people died, and 40 were seriously burned when a truck transporting 50,000 liters (13,200 gallons) of petrol to Burkina Faso exploded.