Illegal Refinery Explosion Kills Pregnant Woman, 34 Others In Rivers

A tragic incident occurred in Rivers State where a fire engulfed an illegal oil refinery site, resulting in the death of about 35 people including a pregnant woman.

VerseNews reports that the incident took place in Ibaa Community, Emohua Local Government Area of the state, late Sunday night while over 45 people were present for illegal oil transactions.

Witnesses reported that individuals from various communities, including Isiokpo Kingdom in Ikwerre Local Government Area, Ibaa, and Oduoha in Emohua LGA, were affected by the fire.

Some victims were scooping and bagging crude oil when the fire broke out. Seven people died inside the pit where they were working, while approximately 10 others were severely burned.

Over 30 people died at the site, with more than 15 rushed to the hospital. Unfortunately, three of them died on the way to the hospital.

A video showed the charred remains of children, men, and women at the scene of the incident.

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) promised to provide further information about the incident.

Local authorities expressed their concern about ongoing illegal oil refining activities in the area and called on traditional rulers to discourage such criminal activities within their domains.

The Chairman of Emuoha Local Government Area, Chidi Lloyd, emphasized the need to address these illicit activities, emphasizing that there is no shortcut to wealth and calling on security agencies to investigate how the crude oil was transported, given the presence of an army formation in Ibaa.