A fuel truck explosion in southern Haiti on Saturday killed 24 people and left 40 others injured, half of whom suffered third-degree burns, officials said.

Officials say the number of people killed after a tanker truck carrying gasoline exploded in southern Haiti over the weekend has risen to 26

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- A tanker truck carrying gasoline in Haiti on Saturday flipped and exploded, killing at least 17 people and seriously injuring 30 others, Radio Caraibes reported. Haitian officials couldn't be reached for comment.

Fuel deliveries to the Miragoane area have slowed in recent weeks as trucks were transported via ferry to avoid gang-controlled highways surrounding the capital of Port-au-Prince

Local media report that the blast occurred as the victims were trying to collect fuel from the crashed tanker. The nation of 12 million people has also been struggling with fuel shortages, as fighting between gangs makes it more difficult to import goods into the country.

A fuel tanker collided head-on with another truck in Nigeria on Sunday causing an explosion that killed at least 48 people, the country’s emergency response agency said.

At least 15 people were killed and 40 more seriously burned in an explosion of a gasoline tanker in Haiti, the Caribbean nation's prime minister said Saturday.

At least 16 people were killed and 40 others injured after a fuel tanker exploded in Haiti, regional civil protection authorities said. Initial reports reveal that the explosion occurred on Saturday when people were attempting to illegally collect fuel from the tanker following an accident in the Calbassier area of the Nippes