LAGOS: As many as 70 people were feared dead after a fuel tanker and six commuter buses crashed in the southern Nigerian state of Anambra late on Friday, Nigerian newspapers said on Saturday.

A car crashed into the debris, causing an explosion which engulfed the buses and other vehicles, the newspaper said.

"The six commuter buses were full of passengers and only 17 can be confirmed as those that escaped ... so the number of dead could be 70 or more," This Day quoted the local operations commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission as saying.