They died in the System 2B pipeline fire that erupted from a clash of two rival gangs, whose members stormed the facility to scoop product from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
It was gathered that an explosion occurred during a gun duel between the rival gangs, who regularly storm the area in boats laden with plastic containers to steal petrol.
The victims were said to have been burnt beyond recognition in the inferno, which occurred after midnight on Tuesday.
The owners of the facility, the Pipeline Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a NNPC subsidiary, said it had cut off supplies through the affected pipelines, but the fire was still raging in the swampy area last night.
Some eyewitnesses said they saw floating bodies on the Majidun River. Others claimed that some bodies were evacuated by security personnel.
But, PPMC spokeman Nasir Imodagbe said nobody had access to the scene because of the fire.
A source claimed he sighted five bodies on the river, adding that more may have been removed by security personnel.
He also confirmed that there were several others burnt beyond recognition.
The incident came few weeks after the Federal Government stopped the multi-billion naira pipeline protection contract awarded to the Oodua People's Congress (OPC) by the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan administration.
System 2B is an important pipeline that transports more than 11 million litres of petrol daily from the Atlas Cove Jetty across the Southwest, spanning some 512 kilometres.
The pipeline has been a source of attraction to vandals due to its accessibility, despite huge investment by the NNPC to adopt horizontal directional drilling (HDD), that could have buried the pipelines deeper than the previous 1.5-feet installation layout.
At the time of filing this report, the actual casualty figure could not be confirmed, as rescuers were yet to gain access into the scene for fear of being killed.
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