A tanker truck exploded in southwest Libya on Monday, killing at least six people and injuring scores more, medical personnel reported, though the exact cause of the blast remains unclear.

The blast occurred when a crowd flocked around the truck as it was en route to restock a gas station in the Bent Bayyah neighborhood. Images posted online show that there was a stampede before a huge explosion erupted, igniting several vehicles.

An official at the main hospital in Sebha, southern Libya's main city, told AFP that the explosion claimed the lives of six people.

"More than 50 wounded were admitted to Sebha hospital," the hospital's management said on Facebook, not disclosing the number of those killed.

As reported by a security source in Sebha, hundreds of kilometers south of the country's capital, Tripoli, many of the casualties were in critical condition.

Interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah tweeted that his government was "closely following" the incident.

"We have ordered a crisis cell to urgently transfer the wounded to major hospitals," he said.

نتابع عن كثب الفاجعة ببلدية #بنت_بية بسبب انفجار صهريج الوقود، كلفنا جهاز الإسعاف بتشكيل خلية أزمة والعمل لنقل الحالات إلى المستشفيات الكبرى في أسرع وقت، وكلفنا وكيل وزارة الصحة ووكيل وزارة الحكم المحلي وطاقم طبي من مستشفى الحروق لدعم جهود المنطقة في هذه الأوضاع الاستثنائية.

— عبدالحميد الدبيبة Abdulhamid AlDabaiba (@Dabaibahamid) August 1, 2022

Libya is home to the greatest proven oil reserves in Africa, but due to persistent corruption and theft for smuggling to other nations, the pumps frequently run out of fuel.

Southern Libya is particularly affected by poor services and a lack of investment due to a NATO-led coup that overthrew the country's leadership over a decade ago.

Since the 2011 West-led war on Libya, the country has been split between the two parties, with the rival sides of the conflict concluding their latest round of talks a month ago without reaching a deal to try and set the rules for the country's elections.