NIGERIA: Dozens of people were killed in a petroleum pipeline explosion in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos, police said yesterday, with plumes of black smoke still rising into the air a day after the fire broke out.
Police said the pipeline, which belongs to the state oil company NNPC, exploded as thieves tried to siphon off petrol.
"The death count is less than 50, just a few dozen people. We are still fishing out bodies from the surrounding water area," said a police spokesman.
The Ijegun district is a populous island community in the Lagos lagoon area.
Residents said the explosion was either triggered by a spark from the engine of a boat used by the thieves, or by a malfunction in a generator used to power siphoning equipment.
Naval officers said they had spotted several charred bodies floating by the waterfront. Surviving residents were said to have fled to the mainland.
The oil industry has been hard hit with local gangs stealing crude oil and siphoning off refined petrol from pipelines.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International said yesterday that some 500 people had been killed during a month of escalating gang violence in the oil-rich delta region.
"This level of violence represents a serious threat to the region," said Mr George Ngwa, their press officer. - (Reuters)