Over 100 people dead after an explosion in Nigeria.
More than 100 people have been left dead after an explosion at an illegal oil depot in the Nigerian state of Rivers.
“The fire broke out in an illegal warehouse and killed over 100 people, some of whom were burned,” said State Commissioner for Petroleum Resources Goodluck Opiah.
Unemployment and poverty in the Nigerian state have made the illegal processing of crude oil into an attractive business, but with deadly consequences.
Crude oil is stolen from pipelines owned by major oil companies and processed into makeshift reservoirs.
The dangerous process has led to many fatal accidents and has polluted an area already damaged by oil spills on agricultural lands, streams and lagoons.
