Several residents were injured and buildings damaged following an explosion involving a gas pipeline in Aleto community, Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State, on Thursday.

As reported by Daily Trust, residents said the pipeline, reportedly belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), caught fire shortly after 2pm, forcing people to flee the area.

Some of those injured while escaping the scene were taken to hospitals for emergency treatment, according to residents. No fatalities had been confirmed as of the time of filing this report, although the fire was still raging.

The Executive Director of the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria), Dr Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Thursday evening.

He said the organisation had deployed volunteers to the community to assist with rescue efforts and independently verify reports about the explosion.

“YEAC-Nigeria can now independently confirm an explosion at Aleto in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State,” Fyneface said.

He added that the incident had affected surrounding buildings, while some residents were reportedly receiving hospital treatment.

“As of the time of this statement, YEAC-Nigeria has not independently confirmed any fatalities,” he said.

According to Fyneface, volunteers who visited the scene confirmed the presence of officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

He said the cause of the explosion remained unclear, although preliminary reports suggested that a pipeline rupture, allegedly caused by equipment failure at a facility said to belong to NNPC Ltd., might have triggered the incident.

YEAC-Nigeria called on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to identify the operator of the affected facility and conduct a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) to establish the cause of the explosion.

The organisation also urged the agency to invoke relevant provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, where applicable.

When contacted, the Rivers State Police Command spokesperson, ASP Agabe Blessing Kaborlo, said she was unaware of the incident but requested that a text message be sent to enable her to make enquiries and respond.

She had yet to provide an update as of the time of filing this report.

Similarly, the NSCDC spokesperson, Mr Ihemnacho Umeado, said he would make enquiries and respond to Daily Trust, but had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.