4 injured in Lebanon fuel tanker blast transferred to Turkey

By Mahmut Geldi

BEIRUT (AA) – Four people injured from a fuel tanker explosion in northern Lebanon have been transferred to Turkey’s capital, the Turkish ambassador to Lebanon said Sunday.

Ali Baris Ulusoy told Anadolu Agency that Turkey is the first country to take action at the request of the Lebanese authorities.

The Turkish Health Ministry sent a four-bed ambulance aircraft and the severely injured victims were transferred to Ankara, he said.

At least 28 people were killed and 79 others injured when a fuel tanker exploded in the country’s Akkar region early Sunday.

The Lebanese army said the explosion occurred as soldiers were distributing gasoline to local residents from a fuel storage tanker it had confiscated during a raid.

Lebanon is facing a severe economic crisis, with the local currency losing nearly all of its value against the dollar and streets witnessing massive protests and rallies.

On Wednesday, the country’s central bank halted fuel subsidies that have drained the country’s foreign reserves.

A foreign currency shortage and devaluation of the Lebanese pound have caused the central bank's dollar reserves to dwindle from an average of $38 billion at the end of 2019 to its current average of $16 billion.

Observers say lifting fuel subsidies would raise the prices of other goods and services that depend on fuel to generate electricity for production such as factories and private bakeries.

*Writing by Merve Berker