Fuel tank explosion in Beirut building kills 4 people

BEIRUT — A diesel tank exploded inside a Beirut building on Friday night, killing four people and injuring several others, the Lebanese Red Cross said.

It was not immediately clear what triggered the blast in the western neighborhood of Tariq Jadidah.

Lebanese media said the blast was heard across the capital.

The state-run National News Agency said the blaze erupted inside a bakery in the basement of the building.

Firefighters quickly put out the blaze and later helped building residents stuck in their apartments by the fire to climb down ladders. Lebanese troops also deployed to the area and pushed back onlookers.

The explosion came two months after a massive blast at Beirut’s port killed nearly 200 people, injured about 6,500 and caused damage worth billions of dollars. Nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive chemical used in fertilizers, exploded at Beirut’s port on Aug. 4. The material had been stored at the facility for six years.

It is still not known what ignited the nitrate but more than two dozen people, many of them port and customs officials have been detained since.

In other parts of Lebanon, wildfires erupted in forests amid a heatwave hitting the Mediterranean country. Some of the fires broke out in villages along the border with Israel. The state-run news agency said a mine exploded in the Wazzani area because of the fire. There were no casualties.

In neighboring Syria, wildfires have killed two people and caused breathing problems for about 20 others in the coastal province of Latakia, the health ministry said.