A suspected oil explosion has erupted in Eleme area of Rivers State where the Port Harcourt Refineries I & II are located. It is also home to Indorama Petrochemicals and Fertilizer companies.
The explosion which was reported by villagers has been affirmed by a registered non-governmental organisation which said its volunteers had visited the site.
Video clips showed grey and dusty-looking mass flowing upwards in Alode Eleme. The explosion was said to have occurred earlier in the day on Thursday.
Equipment failure is being suspected, but the area is prone to third-party interference.
The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) said in a statement made available to newsmen in Port Harcourt on Thursday evening that it “can now independently confirm an explosion at Aleto in Eleme LGA”, Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, the Executive Director, said.
The incident, which is currently ongoing, has reportedly affected surrounding buildings, with some residents allegedly hospitalised as a result of its impact, the statement went on.
As of the time of this statement, YEAC-Nigeria had not independently confirmed any fatalities.
Read also: Lawmakers move to establish renewable energy authority
Dumnamene said members of the Advocacy Centre’s volunteers who visited the scene for independent verification confirmed the presence of officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on ground.
The cause of the incident is yet to be independently verified, YEAC-Nigeria said it was reportedly attributed to pipeline rupture due to equipment failure on a facility said to belong to NNPC Limited.
“YEAC-Nigeria calls on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to identify the facility operator and conduct a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) to the site, and to invoke relevant provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 as appropriate”, the statement read.
The NSCDC in Rivers State is yet to issue any statement.
Related News
