World

Mass Burials After Nigeria Fire

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

October 18, 1998 / 5:43 PM EDT / CBS

Hundreds of bodies charred beyond recognition have been buried in mass graves beside a Nigerian pipeline which spewed gasoline for three days, drew a crowd of thousands to harvest the gushing fuel, then exploded in flames.

Some local estimates put the death toll from the blaze at over 1,000. The disaster may have peaked however, with most of those currently in hospitals expected to survive. On Tuesday, there was no official death toll.

As the fire continued to burn and bulldozers gouged out a burial ground, local government official Mike Ikhurion said on Monday evening there was no way the corpses could be held for identification by relatives.

"Too many unidentifiable bodies litter both the site and hospitals and the only way out is through mass burial," he said.

Many of the victims were women and children who had flocked with scoops, cans, and pans to collect and sell fuel from the broken pipeline.

"Hundreds of people rushed to the scene to scoop up petrol when suddenly there was a fire and all the people there got burnt," one witness said.

Officials were not sure if a spark from a vandal's tools or a careless smoker was responsible for the blaze, which began Saturday and was still raging late Sunday.

The pipeline transported fuel from the refinery in Warri to the northern city of Kaduna.

Communication with the towns was very difficult because of the fire, poor roads, and Nigeria's notoriously bad telephone system.

Although no evidence was made public that the fire was set purposely, acts of sabotage against oil installations in the Niger Delta have been on the rise recently. Communities in the region allege they are being neglected by the government and multinational oil companies.

Despite Nigeria's enormous oil wealth, years of government misrule and corruption have resulted in perpetual fuel shortages that have led to skyrocketing black-market prices and long lines at the gas pumps.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation with more than 104 million people, relies on oil for 90 percent of its exports.

The crisis in the oil-producing areas is a threat not only to the budget but also to military ruler General Abdulsalami Abubakar's plan to restore democracy next year.