Explosion Kills 5 In Rivers

Five persons were reported killed when an explosion ripped through stored illegally refined petroleum products in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government area of Rivers State yesterday.

A group, Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) told newsmen that the incident occurred in a residential house where people purchased and stored illegally refined petroleum products.

In a statement yesterday, Dr. Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface said the explosion took place early yesterday at about 11:00 AM, killing five persons, four females and one male. They were burnt beyond recognition.

The Advocacy Centre warned residents and youths against involvement in pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft, artisanal refineries and trading in illegally refined petroleum products including home storage to avoid ugly incidents of this nature. It urged authorities to investigate the incident.

The group renewed its call on the federal government to legalise artisanal refineries in the Niger Delta through the establishment of its July 27, 2020 proposed Presidential Artisanal Crude Oil Refining Development Initiative (PACORDI) and/or Modular Refineries for artisanal Refiners in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region to mitigate against incidents of this nature.

Police spokesman, Grace Iringe-Koko, said, “It was a condensate kerosene product that was stored to be sold. Somebody brought a lighted stove close to the place where the product was stored to cook Indomie and that ignited the fire.”