Red Cross: 100 killed in Nigeria pipeline fire

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) -- Flames from a ruptured fuel pipeline swept through homes and a school in a Nigerian village Thursday, killing about 100 people and injuring 20 others, a Red Cross official said.

Road construction machinery pierced a pipe carrying refined fuel through a village on the distant outskirts of the main city of Lagos, spreading flames into the surrounding area, Nigerian Red Cross disaster coordinator Suleman Maikubi said.

Many children fled the school before it was completely engulfed in fire, and Red Cross officials were working to reunite children with parents who rushed to the scene.

Maikubi said it was unclear how many children were among the roughly 100 people killed. About 20 people were injured and taken to a hospital for treatment, but fire-control teams were on the scene and bringing the blaze under control, he said.

Pipeline fires are common in Nigeria. More than 400 people died in two similar pipeline explosions in Lagos in 2006, and at least 40 died in December.

Authorities frequently blame the disasters on criminal gangs who break into the pipelines to siphon fuel for sale, attracting crowds of people who come in their wake to scavenge for fuel.

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