No fewer than 43 suspected oil thieves suffocated and several others remain missing following a toxic chemical inhalation incident in Okrika Local Government Area, Rivers State.
The disaster has left the local community in shock as search-and-rescue efforts continue.
A cargo vessel had anchored at a riverside jetty to load petroleum products for export.
Over 200 youths from neighboring communities arrived on wooden boats, attempting to siphon fuel simultaneously from an illegally tapped pipeline at the same jetty, according to community sources.
As illegal bunkering progressed, overwhelming chemical fumes saturated the air, causing victims to choke and rapidly lose consciousness.
Scores of victims collapsed into the river and drowned, while survivors who managed to flee suffer from severe respiratory trauma and are currently receiving emergency medical care.
Thirty-seven of the deceased have been identified as Okrika locals, while six remain unidentified alongside a growing list of missing persons.
Police state command spokesperson, ASP Agabe Blessing Karbalo, confirmed the incident.
She, however, said investigations were ongoing to determine the number of casualties and the circumstances behind their death.
The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) also confirmed the tragedy, citing field reports from its local youth volunteer and human rights defender network.
YEAC-Nigeria verified that at least 37 victims died after inhaling lethal fumes attributed to “Indorama fuel.”
The Executive Director, YEAC-Nigeria, Dr. Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, said: “According to the report, no fewer than 37 persons suspected to be oil thieves died after inhaling what is locally called ‘Indorama Fuel’. Many others are still missing. The incident occurred during the illegal loading of the product into a ship at a tapping point.
“The incident is said to have occurred at about 12:00am on Thursday, September 3, 2026, at the Okari Jetty, Okrika Mainland area.”
He said the victims had connected a pipe to a tapping point on a pipeline that normally transported product from Indorama Eleme Petrochemical through the Port Harcourt Refinery to vessels that usually came every two weeks to load for export.
Fyneface said: “The report further stated that while a vessel was loading the product and the men were simultaneously loading into their waiting boats from the illegal tapping point, they inhaled the product being pumped at high pressure.
“This led to the death of not fewer than 37 persons. Many are still missing, and some corpses have been seen floating on the river but have not yet been recovered”.
He called on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to carry out a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) to the site of this incident.
He further asked companies that owned the vandalised facilities to provide adequate security on their pipelines to prevent a recurrence of the ugly incident.
Fyneface said: “The Advocacy Centre condemns this act of sabotage by the youths and warns them to stay away from oil and gas infrastructure due to the high pressure and associated dangers.
“While calling for investigation into the incident, the Advocacy Centre also calls on the government to provide alternative livelihood opportunities, including the canvassed modular refineries and the legalization of artisanal refining.
“This can be achieved through the establishment of YEAC-Nigeria’s proposed Presidential Artisanal Crude Oil Refining Development Initiative (PACORDI) as well as the proposed Niger Delta Industrial Park to provide alternative opportunities for displaced artisanal refiners in the Niger Delta”.