Florence Uwaeme
An explosion from a crude oil tapping in Rumuekpe in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State has killed over 20 persons.
This was disclosed by members of Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) through its Crude Oil Spill Alert System (COSAS) and members of its “One Million Youth Volunteers Network of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters in the Niger Delta.
It was gathered that the explosion occurred at about 2 am on Friday when the drivers of one of the buses loaded with crude oil to be taken to another area where the refining would take place in an artisanal refinery Kickstarted his vehicle leading to the explosion.
The explosion and fire left dozens, including women, dead and burnt beyond recognition, with many other vehicles and tricycles burnt to ashes at the tapping point on the Trans Niger Delta Pipeline (TNP) that passed through the community.
According to the group, all those who were at the exact tapping point in the “pit” were killed, while some of those who had loaded the crude and were waiting to load, including women, were killed by the explosion.
Eyewitnesses confirmed that men of the Nigerian Army in the area already have already gone to the scene of the incident.
