The 2006 Abule Egba pipeline explosion is a
disaster
A disaster is an event that causes serious harm to people, buildings, economies, or the environment, and the affected community cannot handle it alone. '' Natural disasters'' like avalanches, floods, earthquakes, and wildfires are caused by na ...
that occurred in the heavily populated neighborhood of Abule Egba in Lagos, Nigeria, on 26 December 2006, killing hundreds of people. There were originally believed to be around 500 deaths, but it was later confirmed that the loss was smaller.
The incident occurred after an elevated Pipeline transport, pipeline carrying petroleum products was punctured by Theft, thieves
[
] earlier at midnight (local time), attracting hundreds of Scavenger, scavengers in the district who collected the fuel using plastic containers, allegedly to siphon fuel into a tanker,
before puddles of fallen fuel were ignited after dawn.
The cause of the explosion remains unknown, while witnesses have stated that the broken pipeline was tapped when the blast occurred.
The number of people killed is unclear, but is evidenced to be in the hundreds. Abiodun Orebiyi, the secretary-general of the Nigerian International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, Red Cross (NRC), estimated that there were at least 200 dead but indicated that there was no official death toll and was unable to determine the final number of deaths, stating that the NRC "[doesn't] know if it is 300, 400 or 500".
He also added that 60 people had been taken to the hospital with serious burns,
while a number of houses had been destroyed, along with a mosque and a church.
Another senior official, Ige Oladimeji, was quoted as saying that there has been 260 documented to be dead by nightfall.
On the day of the explosion, a Reuters news agency photographer estimated 500 bodies in the scene.
See also
* 2006 Atlas Creek pipeline explosion
* 2010 South Kivu tank truck explosion
* List of pipeline accidents
* Gasoline theft
References
External links
Photosby ''The New York Times''
Explosions in 2006
2006 industrial disasters
2006 disasters in Nigeria
Explosions in Nigeria
Pipeline accidents
2000s in Lagos, 2006
2006 in the environment
Deaths caused by petroleum looting
December 2006 in Nigeria
Disasters in Lagos State
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