Pipeline blast kills 15 in Burma
Oil skimmed by villagers from a leaky pipeline has exploded in central Burma with at least 15 people killed and dozens injured in the blaze, according to witness reports.
A villager struck a match to see how much oil villagers had collected in drums near the leaking pipeline on Sunday evening, causing the explosion, according to some residents.
The witnesses said the explosion sent oil drums and people high up in the sky and the injured included nearly 100 people who were being treated mostly for burns at the hospital in the central district of Pakokku. The area is about 315 miles north-west of Yangon.
An official said between 15 and 20 people had been killed.
More than a dozen fire engines were at the site as the fire continued to burn, said Maung Maung, a Pakokku resident.
"I saw some badly burned bodies in the debris. Firemen used a back hoe to carry earth to extinguish the fire," he said.
Burma has enormous oil and gas resources. The government-owned pipeline connected two oil fields but struck a leak near Nyaunghla village, attracting crowds of poor residents.