(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
Charred bodies were left scattered among burnt palms, cars and
vans on Sunday after a weekend explosion which killed more than 100
people at an illegal oil refining depot on the border of Nigeria's
Rivers and Imo states, Trend reports citing Reuters .
Flip flops, bags and clothing belonging to those who died
littered the ground, which was blackened by oil and soot while
still emitting smoke in some places despite overnight rain.
'There are so many people that died here. I'm pleading to the
government to look into this,' Uche Woke, a commercial bike rider,
told Reuters at the scene of the blast on Saturday night.
The Nigerian Red Cross Society was on the scene on Sunday to
assess the blast, which destroyed a section of the Abaezi forest,
which straddles the border of the Ohaji-Egbema Local Government
Area of Imo state with Rivers state.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said in a statement that he
would intensify the clampdown on illegal refineries after what he
described as a 'catastrophe' and 'national disaster'.
Unemployment and poverty in the oil producing Niger Delta have
made illegal refining attractive, but with often deadly
consequences. Crude oil is tapped from a web of pipelines owned by
major oil companies and refined in makeshift tanks.
The process has led to fatal accidents and polluted a region
already blighted by oil spills in farmland, creeks and lagoons.
The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre said several
vehicles that were in a queue to buy illegal fuel were burnt.
'The fire outbreak occurred at an illegal bunkering site and it
affected over 100 people,' Goodluck Opiah, the state commissioner
for petroleum resources, said of the accident.
The border location is a reaction to a recent crackdown in
Rivers on illegal refining in an effort to reduce worsening air
pollution.
'In the last month or two, there were several raids and some
security agents involved were tackled,' Ledum Mitee, former
president of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People
(MOSOP), said.
At least 25 people, including some children, were killed in an
explosion and fire at another illegal refinery in Rivers state in
October.
In February, local authorities said they had started a crackdown
on the refining of stolen crude, but with little apparent
success.
Government officials estimate that Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil
producer and exporter, loses an average of 200,000 barrels of oil
per day, more than 10% of production, to illegal tapping or
vandalising of pipelines.
That has forced oil firms to regularly declare force majeure on
oil and gas exports.
Tags:
MENAFN24042022000187011040ID1104084877
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.