An explosion near an oil pipeline siphoned by oil thieves has killed at least 12 people in south-eastern Nigeria, local police and an NGO said on Friday.
Pipeline sabotage, then clandestine refining of crude oil to sell on the black market, causing ecological disasters and fatal accidents, are rampant in oil-southern Nigeria, Africa’s leading producer of black gold.
The blast occurred Thursday night in the Rumuekpe township in Rivers state, through which the Trans Niger Delta (TNP) pipeline passes, according to a statement by the NGO Youths and Environmental Advocacy Center (YEAC). This was confirmed by the local police in a statement.
According to this NGO, one of the buses, loaded with oil that had just been siphoned off, exploded when its driver started it, causing a fire that killed “tens” of people.
Police confirmed the fire on that pipeline, stating that “twelve people and one were burned alive.”
The victims were stealing oil when the site caught fire, she added without further detail.