Fuel explosion kills 30 in Nigeria

Nigeria's police in southwest Lagos State on Saturday said up to 30 persons, suspected to be fuel vandals, died in a pipeline fire at Arepo village in neighboring Ogun State. Friday Ibadin, the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in- charge of the Special Task Force on Anti-Pipeline Vandalism, told reporters in Lagos, the country's commercial hub that an explosion was heard at about 2 a.m. local time. He said the fire was caused by suspected vandals, who allegedly ferried across to the creeks to siphon petroleum products from a ruptured state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipeline. The police chief said fire fighters were still trying to contain the fire. He gave an assurance that the police would provide adequate security in the area. He said security agencies were on the trail of other vandal survivors, who fled the scene of the incident. According to Ibadin, one of the suspects arrested told the police that many of his mates were killed in the explosion, while others injured might still be alive and dying in the creeks