Lebanon is currently experiencing a severe fuel shortage and the past week has seen multiple incidents of tankers being hijacked. Hospitals have warned that they are low on fuel and may be forced to shut down.
At least 20 people have been killed when a fuel truck exploded in Lebanon's northern region of Akkar.
The cause of the explosion that took place late on Saturday is not clear yet.
"Our teams have transported 20 dead bodies and 79 injured from the fuel tanker explosion in #AKKAR to hospitals in the area," the Lebanese Red Cross said on Sunday.
Videos shared on social media showed a large fire at the blast site. AFP could not independently verify the authenticity of the footage.
"The Akkar massacre is no different from the port massacre," said former Prime Minister Saad al Hariri on Twitter, referencing an explosion at Beirut's port one year ago, and calling on Lebanese officials including the president to take responsibility and resign.
Lebanon, hit by a financial crisis branded by the World Bank as one of the planet's worst since the 1850s, has been grappling with dire fuel shortages for months.
⚠️ Update ⚠️: 20 dead bodies and 79 wounded until this minute. pic.twitter.com/qBZygfJYyw
— Lebanese Red Cross (@RedCrossLebanon) August 15, 2021
Beirut explosion anniversary
The Lebanese army on Saturday said it seized thousands of litres of gasoline and diesel that distributors were stockpiling at stations across the country.
Fuel shortages have left many with just two hours of electricity a day, while several hospitals have recently warned they may have to close due to power outages.
Lebanon is facing soaring poverty, a plummeting currency and shortages of basic items like medicine.
The Akkar explosion comes less than two weeks after Lebanon marked the first anniversary of a blast at the Beirut port last summer that killed more than 200 people.
On August 4, 2020, a haphazardly stored stock of ammonium nitrate fertiliser exploded and left swathes of the capital looking like a war zone.
It was one of history's largest non-nuclear explosions.
In the year since, no officials have been held to account for that blast.
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(With input from news agency language)
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