UPDATE – Fuel tanker blast kills 22 in Lebanon

UPDATES DEATH TOLL, CHANGES HEADLINE, EDITS THROUGH

By Mahmut Geldi

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AA) – At least 22 people were killed and 79 others injured when a fuel tanker exploded in northern Lebanon, according to the country’s health minister on Sunday.

Hamad Hasan said some of those injured in the explosion were in critical condition.

The tanker exploded in the Akkar region in the north of the country, the Lebanese Red Crescent said in a statement. It added that 22 Red Cross teams were trying to transport the dead and injured from the site to nearby hospitals.

According to the official Lebanese news agency, rescuers were still searching for missing people following the blast. Circumstances of the tanker explosion are still unclear.

Local media reported that Red Cross teams, as well as army troops, Internal Security Forces affiliated with the Interior Ministry, civil defense teams and residents helped move the dead and injured.

Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati said the blast was the result of the exploiters of the country’s fuel crisis.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri tweeted that, "The Akkar massacre is no different from the Beirut Port massacre.”

“If there had been a state that respected people in both killings, the authorities would have resigned, from the president to the last person responsible for this negligence. The glass is overflowing. The lives and security of Lebanese are at the top of all priorities," he said.

Jibran Basil, the leader of the Christian Free Patriotic Movement, said on Twitter that the country’s “hearts are with the people of Akkar.”

“We commemorate the martyrs with mercy and wish immediate healing to the wounded,” he wrote on Twitter.

Lebanon has been unable to form a new administration since the resignation of Diab's cabinet on Aug. 10, 2020, six days after the massive Beirut port blast.

The Arab country 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 currency 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.

Official estimates put the cost of the Lebanese subsidy program for basic materials at about $6 billion annually, half of which goes to subsidize fuel.

The bank has supported fuel imports by securing the dollar for importers at an exchange rate of 3,900 pounds ($2.59) per dollar, while its exchange rate in the parallel market in recent days topped 20,000 pounds ($13.30).

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 and Ahmed Asmar