About 10 bodies have been recovered from the scene of an incident in which persons reportedly inhaled fumes from a toxic petroleum product and died in Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The Commander of the Civilian Joint Task Force in Okrika Local Government, Igwe Godswill, confirmed the recovery while commenting on the incident on Friday.

The tragedy, which occurred on Thursday, reportedly left no fewer than 37 persons dead, although conflicting casualty figures have emerged.

It was gathered that the incident occurred while youths were illegally loading the product into a ship from a tapping point at a jetty in the area.

A vessel was said to have anchored at a jetty along the riverside to load a petroleum product for export, but in the course of loading the product, a strong smell saturated the air and choked the victims, most of whom were youths.

Godswill, however, dismissed reports that the victims were oil thieves, but admitted that residents actually trooped out in large numbers to scoop the product, attributing it to poverty.

Godswill described the incident as tragic, saying most of the victims were youths searching for means of livelihood due to lack of jobs.

“It is so pathetic that this incident is happening in our community. These are young guys who have gone to search for their daily bread, only for the fumes from the fuel that was pumped to kill so many of our youths under the bridge.

“Many of them were choked to death. These are not criminals or anything, but they went out in search of their daily meal. I am advising the community, the leaders and every other person that we need legitimate jobs in the community.

“These things are risky, but when you cannot feed your children, most times, those risky jobs become the only option,” Godswill stated.

He, however, said about 10 bodies had been recovered, adding that only some of the victims could be identified because of the condition of their remains.

Godswill said, “We saw about 10 of them. Four were still unrecognisable, while four persons were identified. The rest could not be identified because their bodies were badly damaged and their faces were severely affected.”

The Civilian JTF commander called on the Rivers State Government, community leaders and other relevant authorities to create employment opportunities for youths in the area to discourage them from engaging in dangerous activities.

On its part, the NSCDC, in a statement by its Rivers State spokesman, Olufemi Ayodele, said four corpses were seen at the jetty near a creek in Okrika.

Ayodele stated, “Following the incident, an undercover team of the NSCDC Rivers State Command conducted further assessment and surveillance of the affected area and was able to sight four corpses believed to be connected to the incident.

“The development has, however, necessitated further verification of the identities of the deceased and the circumstances surrounding their deaths. One of the victims earlier identified was Taribo Levia, whose remains have reportedly been buried according to the traditional customs of the community.

“Other deceased persons reportedly sighted include Ogoloma Tamunoene Fred, Amiso, and Belema Siyerminma from Ngabiri.”

The Command noted that the initial casualty figures circulating in the aftermath of the incident were not fully verified and may have been overstated.

It warned members of the public against vandalism, illegal tampering with petroleum infrastructure, unauthorised access to oil facilities and the dangerous practice of scooping petroleum products.

“Such activities are not only criminal but can result in fatalities, serious injuries and environmental damage,” the statement added. (Saturday PUNCH)