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At least 100 killed in Nigerian pipeline fire

15/05/2008

At least 100 people have been killed during an oil pipeline fire in Lagos, Nigeria, the Red Cross has said.

"We have so far rescued more than 20 people with injuries and taken them to hospital for treatment," Sky News quotes a Red Cross official at the scene as saying.

"About 100 people have so far been confirmed dead from the fire."

The official confirmed that volunteers were currently attempting to rescue those still trapped in their burning homes.

The majority of the deaths and injuries were caused by a resulting stampede rather than by the fire itself, Sky News reports.

Reuters claims the explosion tore through the Ijegun suburb of Lagos with flames engulfing schools and houses after a bulldozer burst the oil pipeline.

Another Red Cross volunteer told the AFP news agency that the fire was still burning and people were attempting to flee the scene.

Nigeria is one of the world's leading oil producers and pipelines, which flow through many residential areas, are commonly targeted by thieves and vandals.

In 2006, around 400 people were killed in two pipeline explosions in Lagos.