TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
No fewer than eight persons have reportedly lost their lives in a pipeline explosion that occurred in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The incident occurred yesterday, in Kom Kom community, in Oyigbo Local Government Area of the state.
Sunday Sun gathered that the oil facility belonged to the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
But, Shell spokesman , Bamidele  Oladosu, said there was no record of any explosion on SPDC facility in Oyigbo.
A resident of the area , Jude Nwanma said that  residents of Izuoma where the incident occurred,  woke up to a thunderous explosion that occurred from a pipeline that crisscrossed his resident.
Nwanma said more than 10 persons might have lost their lives in the explosion.
He said that the explosion caused pandemonium in the area just as residents scampered for safety.
“It was later  I learnt that the explosion occurred in one of the  pipelines  I suspected to be fuel pipeline and that more than 10 persons lost their lives in the incident,” he said.
The Chairman of Oyigbo Local Government Area, Gerald Oforji, who confirmed the story said that 10 persons died in the explosion.
Oforji said the bodies of the victims  were recovered from the scene when the fire was put off.
 He said that no house was destroyed when the explosion occurred.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, Nnamdi Omoni, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), has  confirmed the story to journalists.
Omoni was quoted as saying that he was yet to be briefed on the number of casualties.
Omoni said the incident occurred when workers of  a company were carrying out repair work in one of the pipelines at Kom Kom in Oyigbo.
He said the State Police Command has commenced full scale investigation on the incident.