(Ecofin Agency) - The Niger Delta Region, witnessed another pipeline explosion as three people were killed and seven wounded. According to an environmental group, the explosion took place at Olugboboro community in Bayelsa stateon Sunday during renovation works in the Southern Delta region, but bodies of the victims were recovered on Monday after the fire was brought under control.

“The news of another tragic incident in the oil industry which claimed three lives ... came to the Environmental Rights Action (ERA) as a great shock. We in ERA will not stop calling on the authorities and regulators of the oil industry to make safety and best practices the mantra of the industry, not just profit (seeking)," Alagoa Morris, an activist at the group told Reuters.

He added that the pipeline was owned by Eni but there has not been verification from the company.

The residents of the community said that more than a few bodies had been badly burned, while some injured were brought with severe burns to the hospital.

The Director General of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, Peter Idabor noted that safety measures were penetrated during the renovation works.

Tensions have been on the rise in Delta, as pipeline attacks by militants and other residents have increased ever since authorities issued an arrest warrant for a former militant leader for corruption charges in January, 2016.

Anita Fatunji