2006 Abule Egba pipeline explosion

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The 2006 Abule Egba pipeline explosion is a disaster that occurred in the heavily populated neighborhood of Abule Egba in Lagos, Nigeria, on 26 December 2006, killing hundreds of people. There were originally believed to be around 500 deaths, but it was later confirmed that the loss was smaller.

The incident occurred after an elevated pipeline carrying petroleum products was punctured by thieves{{cite news | last =Zhang | first =Linda | title =Nigerian Pipeline Blast Spurs UN Call for Fuel Management Review | work = International Business Times | date =29 December 2006 | url = http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20061229/nigeria-oil-explosion-un.htm | accessdate =1 January 2007 }}

earlier at midnight (local time), attracting hundreds of scavengers in the district who collected the fuel using plastic containers, allegedly to siphon fuel into a tanker, before puddles of fallen fuel were ignited after dawn.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/12/26/nigeria.blast.ap/index.html |title=200 dead in Nigeria pipeline blast, Red Cross confirms |publisher=CNN, originally Associated Press |date=26 December 2006 |accessdate=26 December 2006 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070102080252/http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/12/26/nigeria.blast.ap/index.html |archivedate=2 January 2007 |url-status=live}} The cause of the explosion remains unknown, while witnesses have stated that the broken pipeline was tapped when the blast occurred.

The number of people killed is unclear, but is evidenced to be in the hundreds. Abiodun Orebiyi, the secretary-general of the Nigerian Red Cross (NRC), estimated that there were at least 200 dead but indicated that there was no official death toll and was unable to determine the final number of deaths, stating that the NRC "[doesn't] know if it is 300, 400 or 500".{{cite news |url=http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=newsOne&storyID=2006-12-26T153237Z_01_L26344713_RTRUKOC_0_US-NIGERIA-FIRE.xml&WTmodLoc=Home-C2-TopNews-newsOne-6 |title=Up to 500 killed in Lagos fuel blast |work=Reuters |date=26 December 2006 |accessdate=29 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216050529/http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=newsOne |archive-date=16 February 2007 |url-status=dead}} He also added that 60 people had been taken to the hospital with serious burns, while a number of houses had been destroyed, along with a mosque and a church. Another senior official, Ige Oladimeji, was quoted as saying that there has been 260 documented to be dead by nightfall.{{cite news | url=http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13559365,00.html | title= Hundreds Die in Nigeria Pipeline Blast | publisher=Sky News |date=26 December 2006 | accessdate=29 December 2006}} On the day of the explosion, a Reuters news agency photographer estimated 500 bodies in the scene.{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6209845.stm | title= Lagos pipeline blast kills scores |work=BBC News|date=26 December 2006 | accessdate=26 December 2006}}