WARRI, Nigeria (AP) - A local official says all of the more than 50 people reported missing after an explosion in southern Nigeria early Friday have now been accounted for.
The Nembe Chiefs Council spokesman, Chief Nengi James-Eriworio, tells The Associated Press that many people are “suffering physiological stress” from the blast and stampede in the Nembe kingdom in Bayelsa state.
He originally blamed a leaking oil pipeline operated by Lagos-based Aiteo Group, but the company in a statement on Monday said the fire instead was near a well head and had “completely died down” early Saturday.
The statement says that “all the wells and facilities in the immediate vicinity have been inspected and secured” and an investigation is under way into the cause of the fire.
Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta is highly polluted.
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