At least 37 people died early Thursday in Nigeria's oil-rich southern Niger Delta after inhaling fumes during the theft of fuel from a pipeline, a local NGO said.
Rivers State police confirmed the incident in a statement saying the victims were allegedly attempting to steal oil, but it did not give a toll.
The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) said it had "received and confirmed a report from its network of youth volunteers and human rights defenders in the Niger Delta in the Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State that some persons, not fewer than 37 have been confirmed dead after inhaling 'Indorama fuel'."
It said in a statement that those killed are "suspected to be oil thieves", adding: "Many others are still missing.”
Multi-billion-dollar sector
The Niger Delta is home to Nigeria's multi-billion-dollar oil and gas resources, but residents of the region live in poverty due to decades of oil exploration, neglect and pollution.
Illegal oil-siphoning is a major problem in Nigeria -- an OPEC member and one of Africa's largest petroleum producers -- causing serious pollution.
Fire accidents are also common in swamps in the Niger Delta, after smugglers tap into pipelines to steal crude and refine it into fuel for sale.
In October 2021, at least 25 people, including some minors, were killed in an explosion and fire at an illegal oil refinery in Nigeria's Rivers State.
Nigeria is Africa's largest oil exporter. Officials estimate it loses an average of 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil - more than 10% of its production - to those tapping or vandalising pipelines.
