South Africa's state-owned logistics firm Transnet said on Sunday its petroleum pipeline in Durban has been shut down after a fire that broke out nearby in a botched fuel theft attempt in which three people died. "The Transnet Pipelines National Operations Centre immediately shut down the pipeline and activated the emergency response plan," the company said in a statement. Transnet said three people died in the attempted fuel theft incident. The company said there has been an unprecedented spate of fuel theft incidents on its pipelines and the associated infrastructure during the last two years. "Due to the inherent dangers of tampering with high pressure petroleum pipelines, these incidents have resulted in fire and other asset damage, as well as environmental incidents, with high remediation costs," Transnet said.

Source: The North Africa Journal October 31, 2021 23:23 UTC