Death toll in Abia pipeline explosion hits 24

The death toll from an oil pipeline explosion in two Abia communities in Osisioma local government area of the state has risen to 24.

NAN reports that as at Friday when the incident occurred, 19 persons, including a nursing mother, died on the spot.

Anthony Ogbizi, Abia commissioner of police, gave the new figure during a press briefing in Umuahia on Saturday.

“When we visited the two communities on Saturday, we were informed that 14 people were reported dead at Umuimo village, while 10 died at Umuaduru,” he said.

“Some of the victims who sustained various degrees of burns were said to be asleep when the incident occurred.

“They were said to have been taken to nearby hospitals and traditional medicine homes for treatment.

“According to the information we obtained from the NNPC depot in Aba, the spillage occurred on a pipeline that conveys product from Aba depot that was undergoing maintenance.”

Benito Eze, state commander of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), had said the Umuaduru incident happened when some youth in the area were scooping petroleum products from a vandalised pipeline.

He said the explosion in Umuimo started when petrol stored in the house of a food vendor was ignited by a fire set for cooking.

Eze said the woman and her husband escaped death but their building was razed down.

According to him, an undisclosed number of victims, who sustained severe burns, were still receiving treatment in different hospitals in the area.