No fewer than six persons have been killed following a tanker fire incident involving two petrol tankers in Eteo community, Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State.
It was learnt that the victims were killed on Sunday while trying to scoop fuel from an already burning tanker.
The petrol tankers, which were said to be laden with 33,000 litres of suspected illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) was set ablaze by operatives of the Anti-Bunkering Unit of the Nigerian Police Force close to the Trailer Park Junction, along the Eteo axis of the East-West Road.
A source in the area, Nwigbalor Gideon, who is a member of One Million Youth Volunteers Network of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters in the Niger Delta, said the security operatives forced the drivers at gunpoint into the bush with their tankers and set the trucks ablaze.
He said, “The security agents forced the truck owners at gunpoint to drive to the point where this happened.
“I saw many residents scooping and transporting it away. As the fire was set on the tankers and they started burning, they exploded and the products poured out and they could scoop it at distances.”
He further said since the AGO did not burn as fast as petrol, especially as it was poorly refined, it was easier for locals to scoop the product as it oozed out from the truck into drainages.
On his part, the Executive Director of Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC), Fyneface Dumnamene, said there should be a provision in the Petroleum Industry Act, where security operatives who set ablaze petrol tankers and vessels could be dragged to court.
He noted that setting ablaze oil tankers and stolen petroleum products would only further damage the already degraded Niger Delta environment.
On the casualty figure, he disclosed that about six persons, including a security official, lost their lives, while others were hospitalised in an undisclosed facility on Sunday.
According to him, “As a result of the increased product scooping activity, with some of the scoopers climbing the tankers that were still standing with some product in them, led to an explosion in the process, leading to the alleged deaths, burns and injuries to those caught in the fire including a dead body said to be in security uniform.”
Fyneface further said fire service arrived at the scene to put out the remnants of fire and the area cleaned, and called on relevant authorities to visit the site of the incident and stop residents of the area from going to the site to scoop petroleum products.
When contacted, the Police spokesperson in the State, SP Grace Koko, confirmed the incident but said only two persons died.
Shge also said the state command has started investigation into the matter.
