Many people were burnt dead, Saturday, as a pipeline exploded in Komkom community in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Reports put the casualty figure to about a dozen but there were fears that it may spike in the days ahead because of victims in critical conditions in hospitals.
According to residents, the explosion occurred early Saturday morning and sent people running in different directions, looking for cover.
A resident said the incident occurred at about 6.45 a.m., while another said it actually began much earlier.
The explosion was said to have been triggered when some engineers of a yet-to-be-named company were working on one of the pipelines.
There was also no agreement as to which of the oil giants owns the burst pipeline.
While some said the facility belongs to Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, others thought it is the property of the Petroleum Product Marketing Company, PPMC.
But spokesman for SPDC, Bamidele Odugbesan, debunked reports that the exploded pipeline belongs to his employers.
The Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer, Nnamdi Omoni, told journalists that though some persons died in the inferno, he would not finger a specific figure.
The situation was still fluid, he said, adding that investigation was under way to ascertain the root cause of the tragedy.
Chairman of Oyigbo Local Government Area, Gerald Oforji, could not give a specific number of casualties but confirmed that some badly burnt bodies were brought out of the wreckage after fire fighters brought the explosion under control.
However, residents said the explosion rocked their community to its foundation and caused so much panic among them.
“It was like earth tremor,” said another resident. “It shook our house so badly we thought we would be buried in it.”
