Pipeline fire put out in Nigeria south west

A pipeline fire raging at Ije-Ododo area of southwest Nigeria's Lagos State has been put out, after great efforts exerted by firefighters despite serious difficulties, a top emergency official said on Thursday.

Pumping of petroleum products would resume immediately after the affected pipeline had been repaired, Ibrahim Farinloye, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesman in southwest, told reporters during a briefing in Lagos.

The fire has been raging in the area for three days after the petroleum pipeline explosion on Monday night following a suspected attack by some vandals.

Farinloye said rains and the swampy nature of the land made it difficult for emergency officials to reach the site since Tuesday. Platforms made of wooden planks were constructed to enable officials reach the site, he added.

"We have gotten to the fire point and with the assistance of emergency agencies, the fire has been put out," he said.

Stealing fuel from oil pipeline or taking oil from broken-down oil tanker truck is very common in Nigeria, Africa's leading oil producer. But mismanagement and corruption has also hit the refining sector, causing chronic fuel shortages.

The past few years have witnessed a string of pipeline explosions, with each killing at least dozens of people. Nearly 300 people were burnt to death in Lagos on December 2006, as they scooped fuel from a vandalized pipeline.