An explosion at a crude oil pipeline on Friday killed 12 people stealing oil in southern Nigeria, police said, in the latest bloody incident in the oil-rich country.
Rivers state police said the blast in Rumurkpe community, Emuoha district, was caused by thieves and vandals.
"The victims were scooping crude product when the site caught fire," state police spokeswoman Grace Iringe-Koko said in a statement.
"So far, about 12 persons are believed to have been burnt to death. The identities of the victims are still unknown," she said.
She said some items including five vehicles and one motorcycle were also destroyed.
The police spokeswoman cautioned people against pipeline vandalism and oil thefts which are common in the region and hurt the national oil production and revenues.
The Youths and Environmental AdvocCentre (YEAC), a non-gvernmental organisation, said the incident happened around 02:00 am, adding "the explosion and fire.... left dozens, including women, dead."
"All those who were at the exact tapping point in the 'pit' got killed while some of those who had loaded the crude and waiting to load including women have been killed by the explosion," it said.
The NGO attributed the disaster to illegal oil refining and thefts.
Pipeline fires in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude oil producer, are common and mostly caused by theft and sabotage.
Hundreds have been killed in Lagos and the oi-producing south in recent years.
