Hilary Andersson: ''The victims don't seem to count.''

At least 700 people burnt to death in Nigeria's worst fuel disaster near.

They had been filling containers with petrol from a leaking pipeline near the village of Jesse when an accidental spark set fire to it.

But our correspondent in Nigeria, Hilary Andersson, says villagers are hiding some of the most seriously injured survivors - afraid they will be accused of starting the fire.

The explosion was Nigeria's worst fuel disaster

Many of them were taken to hospital after the explosion. But because the government claims the fire was started deliberately, they discharged themselves for fear of blame.

A band of Red Cross crusaders is now spreading the word that it is safe for the injured to come to hospital.

Our correspondent found one woman, Victoria, hiding behind her hut with half her body covered in burns. Her wounds were a breeding ground for infection.

When the Red Cross finally convinced her relatives to let her go to hospital it was too late.

Outside the hospital where Victoria died, another man, who had lost three sisters and his mother, screamed: "I want to die too. There's no one left".

'No-one seems to care'

Victims were burried in a mass grave

The inferno, which could be seen for miles even as it subsided, destroyed everything in its path.

There was no way to deal with the resulting carnage except to dig a mass grave.

Around 300 people survived the fire - too many for local doctors to cope with.

Medicines are scarce and there is a shortage of beds. Some of the injured have not been treated for days.

Nigeria is one of the world's richest oil-producing nations. But its vast wealth is in the hands of the leaders, not ordinary villagers like those hit by this disaster.

Our correspondent says few offers of help have come from either inside Nigeria or abroad. She says people are still dying by the day because no-one seems to care.