On October 18, 1998, a pipeline explosion occurred in the community of Jesse (geographical coordinates 5°52′12″N 5°45′00″E / 5.870°N 5.750°E / 5.870; 5.750), 290 kilometres (180 mi) southeast of Lagos, Nigeria.
[2][3] Located in the Niger Delta, the ruptured pipeline was owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and served as a link between an oil refinery in the southeastern town of Warri, 340 kilometres (210 mi) southeast of Lagos, and Kaduna, 610 kilometres (380 mi) north of Warri.
[1] During a visit on October 19, Nigerian President Abdulsalami Abubakar promised to provide the necessary support to give aid in addition to develop solutions to prevent these types of tragedies from occurring again.
[4] Weeks after the explosion, the death toll continued to rise as many of those with injuries died while in hospitals, while others fled care as a result of fearing arrest by the Nigerian government on suspicion of igniting the blaze.
[5] Due to the intensity of the blaze, many victims were too badly burned to be identified, and as a result over 300 bodies were buried in mass graves.