Blaze erupts at Lebanon’s Zahrani oil facility, no death reported

A fire has broken out in a fuel storage tank at Lebanon’s Zahrani oil facility.

Lebanon’s Al Jadeed television channel first reported the news, saying on Monday that a loud sound akin to an explosion was also heard.

“We’re now focusing on clearing residents from the area as we try to put out the fire,” the official said. “The priority now is not to prevent the fire from reaching other tanks,” A spokesperson for the Lebanese Army said

In late September, a vessel unloaded 16,000 tonnes of Iraqi fuel at the Zahrani facility. It was the first shipment from a swap deal between Beirut and Baghdad.

In March, then-PM Hasan Diab said experts found hazardous material in the Zahrani facility.

Monday’s blaze comes just over a year after the massive port blast in Beirut that killed more than 200 people, wounded thousands and destroyed nearby neighbourhoods in the capital.

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