Twenty-three people died on Sunday when a bus on a remote mountain road in Brazil's Alagoas state dived into a ravine, regional authorities said.

Rescue services confirmed that 22 died at the scene and another person – a pregnant woman – succumbed after being taken to hospital, the Alagoas state government said in a statement.

Brazilian media said "dozens" of people were injured, and that the bus had been carrying 40 passengers.

The accident occurred near the town of Uniao dos Palmares.

State governor Paulo Dantas declared on the social media platform X three days of mourning over the "tragedy."

The bus went off the road in an area difficult to access, in a mountainous area called Serra da Barriga.

The regional Mata Hospital declined to give AFP information on the number of dead and wounded it had received. 

At least 34 people, including two babies were killed when a contraband fuel depot exploded into flames in southern Benin near the border with Nigeria on Saturday.

According to Beninese Interior Minister Alassane Seidou, “a serious fire occurred in the town of Seme Podji. Another 20 people were seriously wounded in the incident.”

"I can't really give you the cause of the fire, but there is a large gasoline warehouse here and cars, tricycles and motorcycles come from morning to evening,” he added.

Nigeria is a main oil and gas producer where fuel smuggling is very common along its borders, particularly when the government maintains a subsidy to keep fuel prices low.

The majority of the victims were burnt and they could not be not be identified.

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