Fire has occurred at a spill site along the Trans Forcados Pipeline within the Chanomi Creeks in Yeye community of Burutu Local Government Area of Delta.
Sylvester Okoh, General Manager Community Relations, Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited, operator of the crude pipeline, confirmed the incident in Warri on Monday.
According to Okoh, “at about 11:00 pm on May 19, 2019, a fire incident was reported at the crude oil spill site along the Trans Forcados pipeline around Yeye community.
“It was gathered that the fire occurred due to excessive heat from a pumping machine which was being used to transfer crude oil from the spill site into a barge.
“The fire was reported to have destroyed some equipment at the scene. The houseboat and gunboats were safely relocated from the scene of the fire incident,” Okoh said.
The Chairman of Yeye Community, Phillip Fianka, had earlier told newsmen in Warri that there was a severe fire outbreak in the pipeline in the community.
Meanwhile, Evans Etimigba of the Chartered Peace Reconciliator in the Niger Delta has expressed fear that the fire might probably spread to other parts of the community if not put off.
Etimigba called for quick intervention of the relevant government agencies to curtail the inferno.
