Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Another fire explosion from an illegal crude oil tapping point has rocked Rumuekpe community in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, killing scores of people.
The fire explosion occurred about 2am on Friday, around a pipeline operated by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited in Rumuekpe, when one of the bus drivers loading stolen crude oil from the tapping point kickstarted his vehicle, leading to a spark.
The inferno has left dozens, including women burnt beyond recognition with many other vehicles and tricycles burnt to ashes at the pipeline which runs through the community.
Confirming the development, the Crude Oil Spill Alert System of the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre, YEAC-Nigeria, said all the people who were at the tapping point in the “pit” got killed by the fire, including those who had loaded the crude and those waiting to load including women.
Executive Director of YEAC-Nigeria, Mr. Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, also confirmed that men of Nigerian Army already have arrived the scene of the incident, making it difficult for photographs and videos to be taken.
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