Oil Pipeline Explosion In Nembe Bayelsa: 50 Persons Missing, Feared Dead

[Edoman]

More than 50 people are dead after a leaking oil pipeline exploded and caused a stampede in southern Nigeria, a local official said on Saturday.

The blast early on Friday caused massive oil spillage in the Nembe kingdom in Bayelsa state, the Nembe Chiefs Council spokesman, Chief Nengi James-Eriworio, told the Associated Press.

The Nembe trunk line is operated by the Port Harcourt-based Aiteo Group and carries crude oil to the Bonny export terminal. Aiteo has yet to comment on the explosion. It was not immediately clear if the pipeline has been shut down.

Video obtained by the AP shows a large blaze from the ruptured pipeline at night as villagers look on. “If they turn off the oil well from the station, the pressure inside the pipeline would reduce, causing the flame to burn out,” one person is heard in the background explaining.

The Niger Delta is highly polluted. Nigerian oil companies usually assert that the majority of oil spills are caused by sabotage, theft and illegal refining.

Fatal accidents caused by leaking pipelines are common. In January, an overturned oil tanker exploded in Odukpani in Cross River state while dozens of people were scooping up the leaking fuel. Police said at least 12 people were killed while some witnesses estimated up to 60 were dead.

Hundreds of people have died in similar accidents in recent years in Africa’s largest oil producing country as impoverished people risk their lives to collect fuel leaking from pipelines or trucks.

Source : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/02/more-than-50-missing-after-oil-pipeline-explosion-in-nigeria

[Edoman]

Hundreds of people flee as pipeline explodes in Bayelsa State



 



A major Nigerian oil pipeline has exploded forcing nearby residents to flee and raising suspicions of possible sabotage.
 
The Nembe Creek Trunk pipeline runs from an oil terminal in Bonny to Bayelsa State with capacity of 150,000 barrels per day. 
 
“We have not been officially briefed on the incident, but it occurred. No lives were lost as a result of the explosion and we can’t confirm if it was an attack by militants or an equipment failure unless the people managing the facility go there” to determine the cause" Bayelsa State Police spokesman Asinim Butswat told AFP. 
 
Ndiana-Abasi Mathew, a public relations official for Aiteo, the company that manages the pipeline, confirmed the incident in a text message on Saturday. “There is no official statement at the moment but I can gladly inform you that the fire has been contained and no lives were lost,” Mathew said.  
 
Nigerian pipelines are prone to accidents and are sometimes pierced by people who refine the oil themselves to sell on the informal market. The explosion could also be the result of a criminal act after the re-election of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.

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