DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (AP) — A police official in Tanzania says at least 57 people have been burned to death after a fuel tanker exploded in the eastern town of Morogoro.

Regional police commissioner Steven Kabwe told the local Azam TV that 57 bodies have been recovered. He said many others who suffered burns are being treated.

Witnesses in Morogoro, which lies about 120 miles (200 kilometers) from Tanzania's economic hub of Dar es Salaam, told The Associated Press that scores of people had gathered around the fuel tanker after it was involved in an accident early Saturday. They said people were trying to siphon away fuel when the tanker burst into flames.

Incidents of people being killed explosions while stealing fuel from damaged fuel tankers are common in East Africa.