Hundreds Killed In Nigerian Pipeline Explosion

Guardian

Friday May 12, 2006

At least 150 people were killed today when a petrol pipeline exploded in Nigeria as locals tried to siphon fuel from it, police said.
Around 50 burned corpses could be seen lying on the sandy beach near an area of the pipeline close to the waterside village of Ilado, about 28 miles east of Lagos, Nigeria's commercial centre.

The Red Cross said the pipeline blew up while locals were drilling into it, igniting about 500 cans full of fuel that were lying nearby, apparently full of fuel that had been siphoned off.

There were drilling marks in several places on the pipe. A few of the bodies were floating in the sea.

Despite its oil riches, the impoverished people of Nigeria often tap into pipelines, seeking fuel for cooking or resale on the black market. The pipelines often go through poor areas, but drilling into them is highly dangerous as the fuel can be so volatile.

Today Lagos police commissioner Emmanuel Adebayo told reporters: "You can see the corpses. Some are burnt to ash. We estimate between 150 and 200 people died ... They are going to be given a mass burial."

Rescue workers have dug a ditch near the exploded pipeline and Mr Adebayo said the bodies would be buried in a common grave.

The pipeline belongs to state company Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and runs just under the surface of Inagbe Beach, a stretch of golden sand on one of many islands that dot the Lagos lagoon.

A government spokesman said people insisted on drilling into pipelines despite the dangers. He said there were not the resources to man every pipeline.

Today's incident is the latest in a series of explosions in recent years.

In September 2004, an oil pipeline exploded near Lagos as thieves tried to siphon oil from it, with up to 50 people perishing in the flames. A pipeline blast killed over 1,000 in southern Nigeria in 1998.

A blast at a munitions dump in 2002 in Lagos killed more than 1,000 people.

Most of Nigeria's oil is pumped in the southern Niger Delta region, far from Lagos. Pipes carry the crude to refineries across the vast nation. Nigeria, which normally pumps 2.5m barrels of crude a day, is Africa's largest producer and the fifth-largest source of imports to the United States.

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