The 2006 Atlas Creek pipeline explosion was a disaster that occurred on 12 May 2006 at Atlas Creek Island (sometimes called Isanki Island), near

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, when a pressurized

petrol Gasoline (North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When formul ...

pipeline A pipeline is a system of Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries ...

that had been ruptured by thieves exploded, killing 150 people. The

Nigerian Red Cross The Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) was founded in 1960, and it has its headquarters in Abuja. It has over 500,000 volunteers and 300 permanent employees. The Nigerian Red Cross Society was established by an Act of Parliament in 1960 and becam ...

said that vandals had originally drilled holes into the pipe to steal fuel, and that local people had then come down with

jerrycan A jerrycan or jerrican (also styled jerry can or jerri can) is a fuel container made from pressed steel (and more recently, high-density polyethylene, high density polyethylene). It was designed in Germany in the 1930s for military use to hol ...

s to fill them with fuel. Approximately five hundred jerrycans were found at the scene of the explosion, which incinerated anyone within a 20-metre radius. Many victims were buried nearby in a mass grave. The president,

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...

, ordered a full police investigation to determine the circumstances and to protect the pipeline from similar events. However, local officials were accused of turning a blind-eye to the issue as explosion continued to rock the country.

References

Sources

Scores die in Nigeria fuel blast Scores die in Nigeria fuel blast.
Retrieved: 25 September 2011.
Probe ordered after Nigeria blast
Retrieved: 25 September 2011. Explosions in 2006 2006 industrial disasters Disasters in Lagos State 2006 disasters in Nigeria Explosions in Nigeria Pipeline accidents Deaths caused by petroleum looting May 2006 in Nigeria 2000s in Lagos {{disaster-stub

See also

References

Sources