At least 37 people have died in a suspected gas leak from a pipeline in Nigeria’s oil-producing Rivers state.
According to the environmental group Youth and Environmental Advocacy Center, several people are still missing.
The group said more than 100 people arrived at the Okari Jetty in Okrika in the dark of night in small boats, where they were trying to collect refined petrol leaking from the pipeline.
Police told the BBC that investigations were ongoing and the exact number of people affected was being determined. Several people reportedly collapsed after inhaling toxic fumes. Local sources said some fell into the Boni River while others were taken to hospital.
Oil theft from pipelines has been a major problem in Nigeria for decades. Criminal gangs drill holes in pipelines to extract crude oil and other petroleum products, which they transfer to boats or tankers to sell on the black market or to illegal refineries.
Rivers state is located in the southern Niger Delta region, which is home to large oil and gas reserves.
According to the Youth and Environmental Advocacy Center, volunteers and human rights activists said that some people in Okrika died after inhaling fumes from a fuel called Indorama Fuel, a type of refined gasoline.
Nigeria’s Security and Civil Defense Corps has urged the public and media to rely only on verified information about the incident. The agency is investigating the incident in collaboration with other security agencies.
The agency condemned the theft of oil from pipelines, saying such activities are dangerous to human lives, the environment and the country’s economy.
Environmental activists have also long cited oil theft as a major cause of environmental pollution and damage in Nigeria.
The government has tightened its crackdown on oil theft in the country in recent years.
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