Nigeria: more than a hundred dead in the explosion of an illegal refinery
An illegal oil refinery that was built and operated by thieves, in the Niger Delta.
(illustrative image) AFP/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI
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An explosion at a clandestine refinery has killed at least 110 people in the oil region of the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria, already devastated by decades of vandalism and illegal exploitation of hydrocarbons.
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The explosion occurred on Friday evening April 22 at an illegal site between the oil states of Rivers and Imo, according to police and emergency services.
"
The new death toll is now 110, compared to 80 in the previous one, as several people with severe burns have succumbed to their injuries
," Ifeanyi Nnaji, a local official with the National Emergency Management Agency, told AFP. NOT MY).
“
We learned that many bodies were in the surrounding bush and forests
,” he added, adding that several charred vehicles and jerry cans littered the oil-blackened ground.
Police confirmed the blast took place at the site of an illegal refinery where operators and their customers had gathered to engage in trafficking.
"
Several unrecognizable burnt bodies are lying on the ground, while others, who tried to run away, hang from the branches of the trees
", also testified Fyneface Dumnamene, director of the NGO Youths and Environmental Advocacy Center (YEAC).
Long series of similar explosions
Some local media have reported more than 100 killed, mostly young people, in this explosion which is the latest in a long series in Nigeria, where this type of tragedy is frequent.
President Muhammadu Buhari spoke of "
a national disaster
" in a statement released by his office.
He also called on law enforcement to step up crackdowns on clandestine refineries.
An investigation has been launched to determine what caused the explosion on Friday, the head of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Idris Musa, told AFP.
"
Investigations are ongoing and the fire that raged after the explosion has died down
," he said.
The owner of the illegal refinery is particularly wanted.
with agencies
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