Zürcher Nachrichten - Nigerian oil blast kills 110

EUR -
AED 3.850499
AFN 71.008773
ALL 98.203623
AMD 408.181205
ANG 1.878426
AOA 957.117815
ARS 1052.802845
AUD 1.611799
AWG 1.889601
AZN 1.78073
BAM 1.95685
BBD 2.104369
BDT 124.546819
BGN 1.955321
BHD 0.395093
BIF 3078.681071
BMD 1.048322
BND 1.404767
BOB 7.242022
BRL 6.068274
BSD 1.042269
BTN 88.462435
BWP 14.238911
BYN 3.410895
BYR 20547.119472
BZD 2.100867
CAD 1.464763
CDF 3009.733788
CHF 0.933259
CLF 0.036948
CLP 1019.505987
CNY 7.59717
CNH 7.598032
COP 4601.873352
CRC 530.889885
CUC 1.048322
CUP 27.780544
CVE 110.939365
CZK 25.31071
DJF 185.603117
DKK 7.458186
DOP 62.814299
DZD 140.452152
EGP 52.010209
ERN 15.724836
ETB 127.59287
FJD 2.383151
FKP 0.827459
GBP 0.834234
GEL 2.872224
GGP 0.827459
GHS 16.558655
GIP 0.827459
GMD 74.431168
GNF 8983.905538
GTQ 8.090178
GYD 219.26283
HKD 8.156945
HNL 26.338382
HRK 7.477955
HTG 136.814706
HUF 410.177472
IDR 16634.465696
ILS 3.851683
IMP 0.827459
INR 88.359061
IQD 1365.358559
IRR 44108.165823
ISK 144.899116
JEP 0.827459
JMD 166.040664
JOD 0.743572
JPY 161.920737
KES 135.495088
KGS 90.983275
KHR 4196.291327
KMF 495.32971
KPW 943.489782
KRW 1470.40793
KWD 0.322684
KYD 0.868583
KZT 520.409126
LAK 22893.719185
LBP 93333.853984
LKR 303.348533
LRD 189.169904
LSL 18.807949
LTL 3.095423
LVL 0.634119
LYD 5.089828
MAD 10.54339
MDL 19.010562
MGA 4864.702709
MKD 61.551564
MMK 3404.910334
MNT 3562.199534
MOP 8.356543
MRU 41.470644
MUR 49.09263
MVR 16.206881
MWK 1807.304094
MXN 21.343897
MYR 4.667134
MZN 66.998095
NAD 18.807949
NGN 1763.687131
NIO 38.350941
NOK 11.598951
NPR 140.756858
NZD 1.793396
OMR 0.403607
PAB 1.048071
PEN 3.95212
PGK 4.196291
PHP 61.870958
PKR 289.43114
PLN 4.324697
PYG 8136.52045
QAR 3.822234
RON 4.9767
RSD 117.002216
RUB 109.041694
RWF 1422.776888
SAR 3.936062
SBD 8.788669
SCR 15.763705
SDG 630.565511
SEK 11.518181
SGD 1.412426
SHP 0.827459
SLE 23.827917
SLL 21982.801994
SOS 595.625233
SRD 37.209173
STD 21698.157582
SVC 9.120067
SYP 2633.941386
SZL 18.801446
THB 36.275119
TJS 11.161648
TMT 3.669128
TND 3.32964
TOP 2.455279
TRY 36.262506
TTD 7.078798
TWD 34.040064
TZS 2778.054341
UAH 43.118956
UGX 3872.539951
USD 1.048322
UYU 44.570933
UZS 13371.173597
VES 49.410144
VND 26648.355968
VUV 124.458945
WST 2.926487
XAF 656.315372
XAG 0.034032
XAU 0.00039
XCD 2.833144
XDR 0.79284
XOF 656.315372
XPF 119.331742
YER 262.001981
ZAR 18.935062
ZMK 9436.158367
ZMW 28.791996
ZWL 337.559392
  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    60.19

    0%

  • RELX

    -0.1200

    46.63

    -0.26%

  • CMSC

    0.0878

    24.76

    +0.35%

  • RIO

    0.8550

    63.205

    +1.35%

  • SCS

    0.3900

    13.66

    +2.86%

  • GSK

    0.2000

    34.16

    +0.59%

  • BTI

    0.1050

    37.485

    +0.28%

  • NGG

    0.2200

    63.33

    +0.35%

  • BP

    -0.3200

    29.4

    -1.09%

  • CMSD

    0.1630

    24.623

    +0.66%

  • RYCEF

    0.0000

    6.8

    0%

  • BCC

    9.8750

    153.655

    +6.43%

  • AZN

    0.8000

    66.43

    +1.2%

  • BCE

    0.2050

    26.975

    +0.76%

  • VOD

    0.1800

    8.91

    +2.02%

  • JRI

    0.1620

    13.372

    +1.21%

Nigerian oil blast kills 110
Nigerian oil blast kills 110 / Photo: © AFP

Nigerian oil blast kills 110

The death toll from an explosion at an illegal refinery in southern Nigeria rose to 110 on Sunday, the emergency services said, as more people died from their injuries.

Text size:

The blast occurred late Friday at the illegal site between the southern oil states of Rivers and Imo, police said.

"The death toll is now 110 from 80 as more people have succumbed to their injuries," Ifeanyi Nnaji of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), told AFP.

Ifeanyi who heads NEMA operation in the area, said dozens of people "with severe burns are still in the hospitals".

Earlier Sunday, he told AFP that at least 80 had been killed -- but that more could die of their injuries.

"We learnt many bodies are in nearby bushes and forests as some illegal operators and their patrons scampered to safety."

Burnt-out vehicles and jerry-cans used in scoop up stolen crude and petroleum products littered the scene of the carnage, Nnaji said.

Police confirmed the explosion happened late Friday at the site of an illegal refinery but did not provide figures on how many died.

Idris Musa, head of the of state-run National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency told AFP an investigation was under way.

He said the explosion "claimed several lives, especially those engaged in illegal oil refining and bunkering".

An official from an NGO in the oil-producing Niger delta said the corpses of the victims littered the area.

"Several bodies burnt beyond recognition lay on the ground while others who may have attempted to run for safety are seen hanging on some tree branches," said Fyneface Dumnamene, executive director of Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday described the incident as a "catastrophe and a national disaster", his office said.

The sponsors of the illegal refinery "must all be caught and made to face justice", he added.

The Nigerian leader also ordered the security and intelligence agencies to intensify the clampdown on illegal refineries in the country.

- 'Economic saboteurs' -

The disaster is the latest to hit oil-rich Nigeria in recent years.

Pipeline fires are commonplace in Nigeria, in part because of poor maintenance but also because of thieves who vandalise pipelines to siphon off petrol and sell it on the black market.

Crude oil is tapped from a web of pipelines owned by major oil companies and refined into products in makeshift tanks.

According to industry sources, Nigeria loses around 200,000 barrels of crude to oil thieves, vandals and illegal refining operators daily.

Most people in the Niger delta live in poverty even though the country is the biggest oil producer on the continent, with an output of around two million barrels per day.

Imo state officials said the suspected owner of the illegal refinery was wanted by police. The owner will be prosecuted, said state commissioner for petroleum sources Goodluck Opiah.

According to Opiah, the blast also destroyed marine life in the surrounding area, which is predominantly used by farmers and fishermen.

The perpetrators were from neighbouring states in the region, he said, calling for those involved to be treated as "economic saboteurs".

The worst pipeline blast in Nigeria happened in southern town of Jesse in October 1998, killing over 1,000 villagers.

- Better sanctions needed -

The government has deployed the military to raid and destroy illegal refineries in the Niger delta as part of measures to stop stealing.

But the government's clampdown has not yielded results as hundreds of illegal refineries still litter the swamps, creeks and waters of the impoverished Niger delta, causing spills and pollution of the environment.

Tunji Oyebanji, chairman of Downstream Group of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry told AFP the security agencies "are not doing enough to stop illegal refining in the Niger delta.

"As long as there is laxity in enforcement by the security forces, the unwholesome practice will fester," he said.

He called for stronger sanctions against illegal operators and their patrons.

"The motivation for bunkering should be discouraged," he said, referring to the local term for stealing and illegal refining.

"If there is no market for the illegal products, nobody will do it."

U.Ammann--NZN