Vanguard.

Five corpses were yesterday, recovered from the scene of the fire incident at Bonny/Bille Jetty in Port Harcourt City Council of Rivers State, following alleged activities of illegal oil refiners in the area.

It was reported that four victims, including a pregnant woman, a baby, and some others were burnt beyond recognition in the fire.

It was also reported that over 60 wooden and fibre boats were destroyed by the fire that started when some persons attempted to offload illegally refined petroleum products from a boat.

Some residents, who were still in a sad mood, blamed the incident on the recklessness of some boat riders in the area.

Biobele, an eyewitness, said: “We were about to enter the boat and on getting closer, boom, it went into flames and people who were sleeping in the boat around 3 am lost their lives.”

Meanwhile, officials of the Inland Waterways Authority arrived at the scene to monitor the evacuation of victims and to ascertain the cause of the fire at the jetty.

However, the acting Public Relations Officer of the state Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said the command was aware of the incident and had ordered a thorough investigation.

Iringe-Koko said: “The command is aware of the fire incident. The Commissioner of Police in the state has ordered an investigation into the incident.”