25 burnt, four killed as illegal refinery explodes

No fewer than four people lost their lives as 25 others got charred at Rumuekpe community in the Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers.

The cause of the death, eyewitnesses said, was a fire outbreak that resulted from a duct of an illegal refinery known as Kpofire that exploded Thursday.

The leader of a local vigilante group in the area, Frank Nwazimutor confirmed the incident.

Frank said he counted only four dead bodies, among the 22 person at the site, from his own village alone, saying that more persons than estimated may have been affected.

The fire is still raging in the forest where the explosion happened.