Mass funerals are taking place in northwestern Nigeria for more than 150 people who died in a fuel tanker explosion, many killed as they tried to collect petrol that had spilled onto the road.

Reporting from Abuja, Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris said on Thursday that the death toll from the disaster had reached 157, with health workers in Jigawa State saying more than 100 others were being treated in hospitals, the severity of their burns and injuries indicating that the death toll could rise.

Police spokesman Lawan Shiisu Adam said the tanker was travelling from the ancient city of Kano to Yobe State in the north when the driver lost control of the vehicle near the town of Majiya, about 530km (330 miles) north of the capital Abuja, causing it to overturn and spill fuel.

On Wednesday, the biggest funeral took place, with more than 100 victims buried, said Idris.

“Not everyone who was killed was part of the crowd that was collecting the fuel,” he pointed out.

“It’s a sad story and a lot of people are shocked by what is happening, but a lot of people also are not surprised, [with] rising poverty levels, shortages and the rise in petrol prices … forcing more and more people to desperate measures,” he said.

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