Four killed, 20 wounded as fuel tank explodes in Beirut

SANAA, Oct. 10 (YPA) –  At least four people were killed and 20 others were wounded on Friday evening, when a fuel tank exploded in a densely populated area of the Lebanese capital Beirut, local media reported.

The blast occurred after the tank caught fire in Tariq-al-Jdide district. TV footage showed flames leaping up buildings in the area’s narrow streets.

Security forces arrested the owner of the fuel tank, a security source said. He runs a special generator that provides electricity to the population during the country’s daily power outage, the source said.

Local news outlet al-Jadeed TV reported more than 20 injured people, and aired pictures of flames in an alley, and footage featuring the screams of terrified residents of the area.

Firefighters evacuated residents of nearby buildings, while gray smoke was still rising, according to scenes broadcast by the channel, while the governor of Beirut said that “evacuations are continuing.”

There is no word on the cause of the fire.

Lebanon has been rocked by a series of seemingly unrelated explosions plaguing the country since August 2020, when a massive blast killed at least 203 civilians and injured 6,500.

E.M