No fewer than 35 people including a pregnant woman, have been killed following a pipeline explosion at an illegal crude oil refining site in Rivers State.

The sad incident happened at Rumucholu village in the Ibaa community of Emoha local government.

It was gathered that the fire broke out late Sunday night when some people in the community were scooping petroleum product, and all the persons at the site numbering over 45, were affected.

A resident in the community, who gave his name simply as Emmanuel said, “More than 40 people were there at the site. They were there scooping crude oil when the place caught fire. The fire came from a refining site that was close to the point where they were scooping crude oil.

“Many Isiokpo and Oduoha people and Ibaa people were there. Seven of the people died inside the pit where they were scooping the crude. About 10 were burnt to charcoal by the pit.

“About 30 people died at the site while over 15 have been rushed to the hospital. I hear that three of them have died while they were being rushed to the hospital.”

However, the spokesperson of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps gave the casualty figure as 18.

He said 18 persons were roasted while 25 others at the site were rescued by operatives, adding that the deceased included a fresh graduate and a lady whose wedding was scheduled for next month.

The NSCDC, Rivers State Command, Olufemi Ayodele, said: “There is a need for conscious effort and stronger collaborations with the traditional institutions, community youths, and religious leaders amongst others to fight against oil bunkering activities in our various communities and this begins with giving credible intelligence and information to the NSCDC which remains the lead agency in the fight against vandalism of oil pipelines and protection of critical national assets and Infrastructures in Rivers State.”