LAGOS: An oil pipeline exploded near Nigeria's largest city as thieves tried to siphon oil from it, with up to 50 people perishing in the flames, police said on Friday. "People were stealing fuel from the pipeline when it caught fire and exploded," police spokesman Emmanuel Ighodalo said of the blast Thursday in Amore, a village across a wide lagoon from Lagos, a city of 13 million people.
"Is it coming out?"
"I dunno. I can't see. Gimme a match!" |
At least 30 charred bodies of victims have been recovered and more still littered the swamps and waterways surrounding the site of the explosion, making it likely the death toll could reach 50, said Ighodalo. |