Firefighters put out Nigeria pipeline blaze

LAGOS, Nigeria (Reuters) -- Fire fighters put out a gasoline oil pipeline blaze on Saturday that killed more than 60 people and gutted a fishing village near Nigeria's commercial capital.

Fire crews had been battling since Thursday to extinguish the inferno at the now almost deserted village of Ebute-Oko, which lies across a lagoon from Lagos.

"The fire was put out this morning," said one villager.

Lagos Governor Bola Tinubu has demanded compensation for the victims, mostly fishermen and villagers, and accused NNPC's oil products subsidiary PPMC of ignoring a leak in the pipeline. On Friday, he called for a judicial inquiry.

PPMC's Managing Director Dan Nzelu has said the fire, which began when petrol gushing from the pipeline ignited, was caused by vandals.

Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil exporter, has been plagued by oil fires that have killed hundreds of people over the past two years. The last blaze was in July, when at least 250 villagers scavenging fuel from a pipeline died when the fuel exploded.

NNPC has blamed the disasters on thieves who puncture pipelines criss-crossing the country to tap petrol for sale on the thriving black market.

The company has stopped pumping oil products from nearby Atlas Cove, a key port for gasoline imports, as a result of the latest blaze. State television quoted Nzelu as saying the stoppage would not lead to a fuel shortage, however.

"We have enough products at the various depots," he said.

PPMC spokesman Ndu Ughamadu has said repairs to the pipeline would start as soon as the fire was extinguished.

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