No mourners at burial of 50 victims of Nigeria refinery fire

By CHINEDU ASADU
Associated Press

OWERRI, Nigeria (AP) — Days after more than 100 people died in an explosion at an illegal oil refinery in southeast Nigeria, authorities and gravediggers returned to the site in a forest to bury about 50 unclaimed bodies that were burned beyond recognition. In an event witnessed by only a handful of persons, mostly laborers and local leaders, the charred remains of those who worked and traded at the refinery site were shoveled into mass graves, a painful sight bringing authorities to reiterate the warnings to criminals who run such illegal and dangerous refineries.