Twelve people were reported dead yesterday by the Rivers State Police Command following an early-morning explosion of an oil pipeline at the Rumuekpe hamlet in Rivers State’s Emuoha Local Government Area.
A bus carrying illegal crude oil burst just as it was leaving the scene of the event at around two in the morning Wednesday, killing roughly twelve persons.
Women who were reportedly burned beyond recognition were among the victims, even though many other tricycles and automobiles in the area at the time of the incident were also severely damaged.
According to information obtained, the event took place at the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP), which runs through the Rumuekpe neighborhood. Remember that the troublesome TNP line, Nigeria’s main delivery route for liquid hydrocarbons, was shut down due to force majeure for most of 2022. It is an important pipeline with the capacity to deliver about 180,000 barrels of crude per day to the Bonny Export Terminal. It is also a vital component of the infrastructure for the evacuation of gas liquids, which is necessary for maintaining domestic power generation and liquefied gas exports. The Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the occurrence and stated that in addition to the victims identified, five vehicles and motorcycles were also set on fire.
The public was warned by the police to avoid illegal oil bunkering and to use the hotlines set up by the police command to report any occurrence they thought would result in crime or the collapse of law and order.
In addition, Fyneface Dumnamene, Executive Director of the Youth and Environment Advocacy Center (YEAC), said that the organization’s study proved that everyone who was at the precise tapping location in the “pit” got killed.
He continued by saying that the explosion also claimed the lives of other people who had loaded the crude or were waiting to load, including ladies.
The incident on the shell-operated line was confirmed by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) Tuesday, noting that the situation had been notified to the regulatory body. However, it does mention that the incident happened on Thursday night.
