At least 37 people are feared dead after inhaling toxic fumes while allegedly loading petroleum products at the Okari Jetty in Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The incident reportedly occurred around midnight on Thursday in the Okrika Mainland area, where youths from Okrika and neighbouring communities had gathered to load petroleum products from an alleged illegal tapping point.
Several others were said to be missing, while some survivors reportedly suffered severe respiratory complications and were rushed to hospitals for treatment.
A community source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said more than 100 people had arrived at the jetty in locally made boats while a vessel was anchored along the river to load petroleum products.
According to the source, trouble began during the loading operation when a strong smell suddenly filled the area, causing several people to collapse.
“Many of them collapsed into the river, while others who managed to escape the scene had serious respiratory disorders and were being treated at the hospital.
“As I speak to you, over 37 bodies were identified as Okrika people, while six others were yet to be identified and many are still missing,” the source said.
The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) also confirmed the incident, saying its network of youth volunteers and human rights defenders across the Niger Delta had reported the deaths.
The organisation’s Executive Director, Dr Fyneface Dumnamene, said at least 37 people suspected of involvement in illegal oil activities died after inhaling what is locally known as “Indorama fuel.”
Dumnamene said the victims were allegedly loading the product into their boats from an illegal tapping point while another vessel was simultaneously loading petroleum products at the jetty.
He explained that the youths had allegedly connected a pipe to a tapping point on a pipeline transporting petroleum products from Indorama Eleme Petrochemical through the Port Harcourt Refinery to vessels.
“This led to the death of not fewer than 37 persons. Many are still missing, and some corpses have been seen floating on the river but have not yet been recovered,” he stated.
Dumnamene called on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to immediately conduct a joint investigation into the incident.
He also urged the company whose facilities were allegedly vandalised to strengthen security around its pipelines to prevent similar incidents.
The YEAC-Nigeria director condemned the alleged sabotage and warned youths against approaching oil and gas infrastructure, particularly high-pressure pipelines, because of the dangers involved.
He also advocated alternative livelihood opportunities for young people in the Niger Delta, including the establishment of modular refineries and the legalisation of artisanal refining.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Police Command confirmed the incident but said preliminary information indicated that the victims were attempting to steal crude oil.
The command’s spokesperson, Blessing Agabe, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, said no official complaint had been lodged but confirmed that an investigation was underway.
“The suspects reportedly died in the process of attempting to steal crude oil. However, no official complaint has been received in connection with the incident at this time.
“Investigation is ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and ascertain the facts,” Agabe said.
However, the Commander of the Civilian JTF in Okrika LGA, Igwe Godswill, offered a different account, saying the victims had gone to scoop petroleum products that had spilled into the river when they were overwhelmed by fumes from a vessel loading products at the jetty.
Godswill described the incident as tragic, saying many of the victims were youths struggling to make a living amid limited employment opportunities.
“It is so pathetic that this incident is happening in our community. These are young guys who have gone to search for their daily bread, only for the fumes from the fuel that was pumped to kill so many of our youths under the bridge.
“Many of them were choked to death. These are not criminals or anything, but they went out in search of their daily meal,” he said.
He said the victims were scooping petroleum products floating on the water when they were overcome by fumes from the vessel.
Godswill said about 10 bodies had so far been recovered, adding that some could not be identified because of the condition of their remains.
“We saw about 10 of them. Four were still unrecognisable, while four persons were identified. The rest could not be identified because their bodies were badly damaged and their faces were severely affected,” he stated.
The Civilian JTF commander appealed to the Rivers State Government, community leaders and other relevant authorities to create employment opportunities for youths in Okrika to discourage them from engaging in dangerous activities.
He warned that simply stopping young people from accessing such sites would not solve the problem if alternative sources of livelihood were not provided.
“Something that can put food on the tables of these young men, the youths and every other person. I can tell you for free that it will not just stop because when that source is the only livelihood, people will still go there.
“Even as of yesterday, people still went there, despite the fact that we had confirmed that people had died from the same activity,” Godswill added.
