Pipeline fire, tanker blast in southern Nigeria: sources

LAGOS (AFP) – A major oil pipeline belonging to Italian oil company Agip caught fire and a tanker truck exploded in separate incidents Monday in southern Nigeria, military and industry sources said.

The oil pipeline at Omoku in Rivers state had been ruptured before it caught fire early Monday, the sources said. It was not immediately clear if anyone was hurt in the incident.


Firefighters from Agip had put out the blaze.

Meanwhile a fuel tanker exploded Monday morning near Port Harcourt’s main oil refinery, military spokesman Major Musa Sagir told AFP. The cause of the blast was unknown.

The two incidents came barely one week after the most prominent militant group in the restive Niger Delta claimed responsibility for a series of attacks.

AFP