Fuel tank blast in Lebanon claims at least 28 lives

BEIRUT • At least 28 people were killed and scores injured when a fuel tank exploded in northern Lebanon early yesterday, said the country's health minister.

Military and security sources said the army had seized a fuel storage tank hidden by black marketeers and was handing out petrol to residents when the explosion took place. Lebanon is suffering from a severe fuel shortage, leading to long lines at petrol stations and extended blackouts.

The disaster happened in the town of Altalil in the Akkar region, one of Lebanon's poorest areas.

About 200 people were nearby at the time of the explosion, eyewitnesses said.

Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan said the worst cases of burns probably needed quick treatment abroad to save their lives.

"We need urgent help to evacuate some of the injured abroad... there are cases (of burns) that are more than the ability of Lebanese hospitals to handle," he said.

Army and security forces personnel were among the casualties, sources said. Accounts varied as to what caused the explosion.

"There was a rush of people, and arguments between some of them led to gunfire, which hit the tank of petrol and so it exploded," said a security source.

The local Al-Jadeed TV channel broadcast eyewitnesses who said the explosion was caused by a person who ignited a lighter.

A man known as Mr Abdelrahman, whose face and body was covered in gauze as he laid in Tripoli's Al-Salam Hospital, had been one of those in line to get petrol. "There were hundreds gathered there, right next to the tank, and God only knows what happened to them," he said.

The father of another casualty at the hospital said he had two other sons he still had not located.

The Red Cross said its teams were still searching the explosion site. Angry residents in Akkar gathered at the site and set fire to two dump trucks, according to a Reuters witness.

Some of the injured were taken to hospitals in nearby Tripoli, while others were taken to Beirut, said an official with the Islamic Medical Association.

The majority of the injured are in serious condition, said Dr Salah Ishaq of Al-Salam Hospital. "We can't accommodate them, we don't have the capabilities. It's a very bad situation."

With Lebanon deep in economic crisis, hospitals have warned that fuel shortages may force them to shut down in coming days, and have also reported low supplies of medicine and other essentials.

"The Akkar massacre is no different from the port massacre," said former prime minister Saad al-Hariri on Twitter, referring to last year's massive explosion at the port in Beirut. He called on Lebanese officials, as well as the President, to take responsibility and resign.

Mr Hariri is the leading Sunni Muslim politician, the dominant religion in Lebanon's north, and has been in open opposition to Lebanese President Michel Aoun.

Mr Aoun expressed his condolences, writing on Twitter that "this tragedy that befell our dear Akkar has made the hearts of all Lebanese bleed". He added that he has asked the judiciary to investigate the circumstances that led to the explosion.

REUTERS