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A fuel theft operation in Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta turned fatal early Thursday when at least 37 people died after inhaling toxic fumes from a pipeline, according to a local advocacy group.
The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre confirmed the deaths in Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State, where suspected oil thieves had tapped into a pipeline transporting crude from the Indorama Eleme Petrochemical facility through the Port Harcourt Refinery.
In a statement, the organisation said it had confirmed that “not fewer than 37” people died after inhaling fumes from what it termed “Indorama fuel.”
The victims were suspected to be oil thieves, and many others remained unaccounted for, it added.
“Many are still missing, and some corpses have been seen floating on the river but have not yet been recovered,” the group said.
According to the report, “youths had connected a pipe to a tapping point on a pipeline that normally transports” crude from manufacturer Indorama Eleme Petrochemical to ships that are loaded for export via the Port Harcourt Refinery.
It stated that the men were filling their own boats with oil by tapping into the pipeline.
Rivers State police acknowledged the incident in a brief statement, saying the victims were believed to have been attempting to steal oil.
Authorities did not provide a specific death toll.
