An explosion and fire near an illegal oil refinery site in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region killed at least 12 people Friday, police said, although local residents reported a much higher death tolls, APA reports citing ABC news.
The explosion in Emuoha council area of the southern Rivers state occurred along a pipeline targeted by illegal refinery operators who were trying to steal oil, state police spokesperson Grace Iringe-Koko said.
“We are aware that there was an explosion relating to bunkering activities,” she said, adding that authorities were working to determine the number of casualties and the cause of the incident.
People in the area told The Associated Press that dozens may have died in the fire that raged for hours and that the victims were mostly young people who planned to siphon oil from a pipeline and to transport to an illegal refinery site in at least five vehicles.
Fyneface Dumnamene, executive director of Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, said a spark from the exhaust pipe of a bus loaded with gallons of crude oil ignited the explosion as the driver attempted to depart.
“Everybody in about five vehicles there was all burnt,” Dumnamene told the AP.
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