JUST-IN: MANY DEAD WHEN EXPLOSION HITS ILLEGAL CRUDE BUNKERING SITE IN RIVERS

An explosion at a site for illegally bunkering crude oil in Rumuekpe Village, a local government area of Rivers State, in the early hours of Friday morning resulted in the deaths of numerous individuals.

At a tapping location on the Trans Niger Delta Pipeline (TNP), which ran through the neighborhood, the event happened at around 2:00 in the morning.

An explosion and fire were caused when a spark from a bus carrying crude oil to the refinery caused a spark.

Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, the executive director of the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Center (YEAC-Nigeria), claimed in a statement released in Port Harcourt that the victims, including women, had been burned beyond recognition.

Fyneface stated: “The explosion and fire at the tapping site thought to be on the Trans Niger Delta Pipeline (TNP) that traveled through the community has left many, including women, dead and burned beyond recognition with many additional vehicles and tricycles charred to ashes.

“All those in the “pit” who were at the precise tapping point perished, but several of those who had loaded the crude and were waiting to load, including women, were murdered by the explosion.

According to eyewitness reports and other sources that corroborated the occurrence in the neighborhood, men from the Nigerian Army Forces are already on the scene, and the police are reportedly en route. This makes it difficult to take pictures or videos of the scenario.

The horrific event has not yet received a statement from the Rivers State Police Command.