Police in northwest Nigeria say 27 people riding atop a truck carrying livestock have been killed when it tipped over and crashed.

Sokoto state police spokesman Sani Salisu said Wednesday that the crash happened Monday when the truck took a corner too fast on a major road in the state.

Salisu said the truck had been heading to Nigeria's Delta state in the nation's oil-rich southern delta. He said some of those riding atop the truck survived the crash.

Hitchhikers in the north often ride atop the trucks carrying produce and livestock to the south.

Traffic crashes remain common in Nigeria, a nation with potholed highways and many speeding drivers. The World Health Organization has said Nigeria is the third worst country for traffic fatalities, after China and India.