More than 100 Nigerian villagers were burned alive when a petrol pipeline exploded as there were looting fuel, the head of the Nigerian Red Cross said."Over 105 people are known to have died. We expect a lot more deaths to be reported," Red Cross president Emmanuel Ijewere said, adding that the blast had been triggered accidentally on Thursday. "Whole families were wiped out," he said. More villagers suffered severe burns and are being cared for in local hospitals and private homes around the scene of the tragedy, near the town of Ovim in the southeastern state of Abia, he said. Ijewere said the pipeline had begun leaking around six weeks ago. At first it had been carrying kerosene, and then diesel, but later began to leak the more volatile petrol. According to Nigerian press reports, when the more valuable fuel began pouring out, a large crowd descended on the area to try to syphon it off it jerry cans and bottles. Ndu Ughamadu, public affairs manager of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, confirmed the pipeline had been carrying petrol and said that engineers had been sent to the scene. "We have received reports that suspected thieves vandalised the pipeline. Villagers went there to try and scoop up gasoline, and a spark set off the explosion," he told AFP by telephone. "We understand that there were casualties. We cannot confirm the numbers," he said. The pipe was carrying fuel from the southern city of Port Harcourt, to Enugu, the commercial centre of the southeastern region, he said. Pipeline explosions are common in Nigeria, Africa's largest oil exporter, and sometimes claim hundreds of lives among the poverty-stricken communities living alongside the oil industry. Often the blasts are caused after deliberate damage to the pipes by looters. Organised gangs syphon thousands of barrels of crude oil every year to sell on the international market, while ordinary people are quick to seize the opportunity presented by damaged pipes. When, as the the case of the latest blast, a refined petroleum product such as petrol is on offer, the potential profits and potential danger are much greater. Nigeria, home to more than 120 million people, is currently undergoing severe petrol shortages and on Friday the government announced a controversial 54 percent price hike at the pumps. After the latest explosion questions will be asked over why the area of the leak had not been sealed off by police so long after it first came to light. A senior humanitarian official told AFP that although police had been alerted they had "done little or nothing" to secure the area before the explosion. "Perhaps they wanted to make something for themselves?" he asked. A report in the newspaper This Day alleged that local people had asked officials to plug the leak but that police had instead charged looters 100 naira (around 80 cents/ 70 euro cents) per head for access to the pipe. A police spokesman was not immediately able to comment on the incident. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Lagos, Nigeria