At least thirty people have perished in an explosion at an unauthorized oil tapping location in Omoku, Rivers State’s Ogba/Egebema/Ndoni Local Government Area.

The youths allegedly broke a pipeline owned by a multinational oil company operating in the area on Sunday morning, causing the tragedy. They then began scooping fuel with buckets and jerrycans.

Thirty people are thought to be dead, but many more had burns of various intensities and are being treated at nearby hospitals.

“It is a very terrible incident,” a community source said. Consider the loss of thirty lives during that period. Some youths were taught to breach a company pipeline.

“You will see many of the injured people scattered all over in both government and private hospitals receiving treatment,” the source stated, referring to the General Hospital and other private clinics in Omoku.

“Attempts to light mosquito coils by suspected oil thieves caused the inferno.”

“One of the oil companies operating in the area owned an obsolete pipeline that caused the leak.”

In order to prevent such incidents, we are also urging the multinational corporations that own the oil facilities to renovate their dilapidated facilities.

Emeka Agbabere, the assistant secretary of the Onelga Security Peace Advisory Council, a vigilante organization in the area, attributed the incident to unlawful oil bunkering.

Agbabere claimed that a local monarch gave orders to the vigilante group, the Community Development Committee, and the youths to halt oil bunkering operations in the area.

He was shocked that the youths would not listen to their repeated pleas for them to stop illegally bunkering.

“This is the aftermath of our declaration that they must stop it,” he stated. When the pipeline burst, a fire broke out right away, killing 19 of them at the scene and roughly 12 more in two hospitals.

When contacted, Grace Iringe-Koko, a spokesperson for the state police command, promised to look into the matter and get back to our reporter. As of the time of publication, Iringe-Koko hadn’t done so.