Residents told a local television channel how the fire "spread so quickly that many couldn’t escape.”

According to AP, the death toll after a fuel tanker overturned in Nigeria’s Jigawa state, causing the vehicle to explode into flames, has risen to over 100, as more victims succumbed to their injuries while receiving treatment in the hospital.

The victims had attempted to scoop up fuel from the overturned tanker, according to emergency services on Wednesday.

The accident took place at midnight in Majiya town in Jigawa state when the tanker’s driver lost control of the vehicle while driving along a highway, said Lawan Adam, a spokesperson for the local police.

At the scene, 97 people were “burned to ashes” while eight others later died in the hospital, reported Haruna Mairiga, head of the Jigawa State Emergency Management Agency, in his statement to The Associated Press.

Bodies were scattered across the scene of the tragedy.

The driver, who was involved in the incident, had traveled around 110 kilometers (68 miles) from neighboring Kano state, police said.

When word of the accident reached the local residents, they hurried to the scene to collect fuel, which ultimately “triggered a massive inferno,” said police spokesperson Lawan Adam.

Video footage from the scene appeared to capture a large fire spreading throughout the area, with bodies visibly lying on the ground.

By Wednesday morning, the residents of Majiya town were grieving as a mass burial was held for the victims. Most of the bodies were beyond recognition, according to emergency services.

Mairiga, the head of the emergency services, remarked, “If they had known (about the danger), they wouldn’t have gone to fetch (the fuel).”

He also mentioned that the emergency services only managed to arrive at the scene several hours after the crash had occurred. “But the incident had already happened … those who got caught up (in the fire) were burned to ashes,” Mairiga explained.

In one of the videos from the scene, a bystander who was recording the footage seemed to attempt to encourage others to assist the victims, yelling, “It’s burning the body! He will die ... when the vehicle explodes, there will be a problem.”

A local resident, Sani Umar, recounted the horrifying scene to Channels Television, describing how the fire "spread so quickly that many couldn’t escape.”

“People were running in all directions, screaming for help,” Umar recalled.

State police commissioner Ahmadu Abdullahi expressed his sorrow, saying, “This is a heartbreaking moment for us all.”