Explosion rocks Imo community, claims 25 lives

Not fewer than 25 persons have lost their lives during an oil explosion that occurred in the oil-bearing community of Obitti in the Ohaji/Egbema Council Area of Imo State.

The incident, which occurred on Tuesday at the Obitti Rubber Estate as a result of illegal bunkering, has shaken the very foundation of the community.

The incident has claimed several lives, while an undisclosed number of persons escaped being trapped in the explosion, with properties and farmlands estimated at several million Naira.

In the video clip that has gone viral with the report, the incident erupted from the activities of some hoodlums who dug a deep hole in a nearby bush, fixed a long pipe in it from where they scooped crude oil, which they emptied into a hired standby tanker.

The voice from the same video showed an illegal oil operation going on where suspected vandals emerged from the bush and engaged the bunkers in a gun duel to disperse them.

It was gathered that the exchange of fire ensured, consequently sparking off an explosion with a resultant inferno which not only sent some of the boys to their early grave but also reduced the stationary tanker to rubble with billows of smoke oozing out from the burning tanker.

The video showed the scene of the disaster with the wailing and lamentation by relatives of the victims whose charred bodies littered the scene.

Subdued by anxiety and trepidation, some residents of the embattled community within the vicinity had fled their homes for fear of possible interrogation by security agencies.

Confirming the incident, the Imo State Police Command through the Public Relations Officer ASP Henry Okoye said in a telephone chat that the Commissioner of Police CP Aboki Danjuma has already set up a high-power investigation team to immediately unravel the immediate cause of the incident and arrest the culprits.

On the number of people that lost their lives during the incident, the Police spokesman said that he is yet to ascertain the number.