Some maintenance workers repairing pipelines, were killed during a pipeline explosion at an oil field operated by the Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) in Olugboro community in Southern Ijaw local government area of Bayelsa state.
Oil pipeline explosion
Three maintenance workers have been reportedly killed and many injured as an oil pipeline operated by Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) in Bayelsa, exploded in Bayelsa on Easter Sunday.
The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) who confirmed the pipeline blast, said the incident occurred during repair work on the crude oil pipeline located at Olugboro in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa.
The Director-General of the oil spill agency, Peter Idabor, who confirmed the development in a telephone interview on Tuesday, said a staff of the agency escaped death in the incident, adding that the survivor had called the attention of the oil workers to the breach of safety procedure and left the scene shortly before the incident occurred.
"I received a report of the incident from our staff in Yenagoa office and luckily one of our officers on the team survived. Because of the safety conditions of the place after inspection my staff left the place and he was not affected.
"I am going to report the matter officially to the Minister of Environment today," Idabor said.
It will be recalled that a July 9, 2015 blast at Agip’s oil field in Azuzuama, Southern Ijaw left 14 people dead.
A regulatory official at Bayelsa Ministry of Environment and NOSDRA and 12 maintenance crew members were amongst the victims.