An environmental organization has alerted this Thursday to the death of at least 37 people allegedly involved in the illegal extraction of crude oil, after inhaling toxic gases in the locality of Okrika, in the Nigerian state of Rivers.
"According to reports, at least 37 people, allegedly oil thieves, have died after inhaling what is locally known as 'Indorama fuel'. Many other people remain missing," the NGO Youth and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) has stated in a statement.
The incident is said to have occurred during the clandestine loading of oil onto a ship from an "unauthorized extraction point." "It is reported that the incident took place around midnight on Thursday, September 3, 2026, at the Okari dock, in the continental area of Okrika," the organization detailed.
The Rivers state police, which has not yet provided a confirmed number of victims, has indicated that an investigation into what happened has already been initiated. Various local sources raise the death toll to 43 deceased, according to information published by the newspaper 'Vanguard'.
In recent years, several hundred people have lost their lives in Nigeria in similar incidents, linked to explosions during attempts to steal fuel from pipelines and tanker trucks. In March 2023, at least twelve people died after a pipeline burst in the locality of Rumuekpe, also in the state of Rivers.