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Rivers: 37 suspected oil thieves choke to death after inhaling fumes
At least 37 suspected illegal oil bunkerers have lost their lives after inhaling fumes from a petroleum product believed to be crude oil. More persons are still unaccounted for as at the time of this report.
The incident occurred on Thursday at the coastal community of Okrika in Rivers State, after the victims reportedly went to scoop petroleum products floating on the water before being overwhelmed by fumes from the vessel loading at the jetty.
According to sources, a strong smell suddenly saturated the air during the act, overwhelming and choking many of the victims.
“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,” a source who chose to remain anonymous said.
Executive director of the Youth and Environmental Advocacy Center (YEAC) Nigeria, Fyneface Dumnamene, said at least 37 persons were confirmed dead by the Center.
Commander of the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) in Okrika local government area, Igwe Godswill, who spoke to newsmen, said the victims had gone to scoop floating petroleum products when they were overcome by fumes.
“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. I am advising the community, the leaders and every other person that we need legitimate jobs in the community. These things are risky, but when you cannot feed your children, most times, those risky jobs become the only option,” he said.
He appealed to the the government of Rivers State and other relevant authorities to create employment opportunities for youths in the community.
“I am calling on the relevant authorities, community leaders, the chairman and every other person to look into this. It is not enough to stop them because, yes, it is a risky job, but they should create jobs for the youths so that everybody will have something to eat.
“Even as of yesterday, people still went there, despite the fact that we had confirmed that people had died from the same activity. So, we are calling on the leaders to look into it and see how they can create job opportunities, especially for the youths,” he said.
Meanwhile spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Blessing Agabe, confirmed the death of the victims who according to him was attempting to steal crude oil.
Agabe said investigations were ongoing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident, though no official complaint had been lodged with the command at the time.
