A fuel tank exploded in the Akkar region of northern Lebanon on Saturday night, killing at least 28 people and injuring at least 79, according to Lebanon's Health Minister.
Some 75 EMTs and 24 ambulances of the Lebanon Red Cross arrived at the scene to care for the dead and wounded. Initial reports indicated that many of the injuries were severe.
ليس هناك ارقام دقيقة لاعداد ضحايا #كارثة_تليل في #عكار ولكن المصادر تشير الى انهم بالعشرات pic.twitter.com/hZVt3IjV2S
— ﮼مـصـدر ﮼مسـؤول (@MMas2ool) August 15, 2021
A number of local residents gathered at the site of the explosion in the morning, throwing stones at soldiers and setting fire to a truck owned by the owner of the fuel warehouse and the owner's home, according to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA).
Assad Dargham, an MP from the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), an ally of Hezbollah, said that the owner of the warehouse was not affiliated with the FPM, but instead belongs to another political movement and "is known for his political loyalty and commercial relations with some MPs from another bloc," according to NNA. Dargham did not specify which party the owner was affiliated with.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun has requested that the judiciary investigate the circumstances of the explosion. During a meeting of the Supreme Defense Council, Aoun warned against "the politicization of the tragedy that occurred in Al-Tleil and the exploitation of the blood of the martyrs to raise slogans and launch calls that clearly reveal the intentions of those who launched them and their involvement in schemes aimed at harming the regime and its institutions."
Aoun added that he had presented a report on the situation in the north in the last session of the council, pointing specifically to the activities of what he called "extremist groups" to create a "kind of chaos," according to NNA.
Joseph Mansour, the mayor of Al-Tleil, told MTV Lebanon that there were 18,000 liters of gasoline in the warehouse and that reports that the warehouse was used to smuggle fuel into Syria are incorrect.
A number of people were missing after the blast, according to An-Nahar. According to MTV Lebanon, over 200 people were present at the site of the explosion when it occurred.
Hospitals in the area began requesting blood donations and medicine to treat the wounded.
The cause of the explosion is unclear.
MTV Lebanon reported on Sunday morning that preliminary information showed that the fuel at the site of the explosion was being collected in preparation for it to be smuggled into Syria. Hezbollah has been accused of smuggling oil from Lebanon into Syria in the past.
In January, an explosion at a gas storage warehouse reportedly used by smugglers injured 10 people. Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported at the time that the warehouse was owned by a person who is close with Hezbollah.
On Saturday, the Lebanese Army had announced that it was searching gas stations and confiscating hoarded fuel, as the country suffers from an oil shortage amid a worsening economic crisis.
Lebanon's Janoubia news reported that the explosion took place in fuel tanks that had been confiscated by the Lebanese Army.
"Our hearts on this night are with the people of Al-Tleil and Akkar," tweeted Lebanese MP Gebran Bassil. "We pray for the mercy of the martyrs and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded and injured."
Bassil called for Akkar to be turned into a military zone to combat gangs he said were blocking roads and stealing fuel.
Former Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri responded to the disaster on Saturday night, stating "The Akkar massacre is not different from the port massacre."
"May God have mercy on the martyrs and put them in peace. May God heal the wounded and injured," tweeted Hariri. "What would have happened in the two crimes, if there was a state that respects people, is its officials would resign, starting with the president of the republic to the last person responsible for this neglect. Enough is enough. The lives and security of the Lebanese are a priority."
"With this failed ruling duo, Aoun-Hezbollah, every day is worse, every day is a disaster," said former social affairs minister Richard Kouyoumjian. "Mercy to the victims of Al-Talil Akkar and a speedy recovery to the wounded, the victims of smuggling to support the economy of the Syrian regime and the victims of the state that allows it. Lebanon is collapsing, Lebanon is a hostage, it is time to liberate it."
Multiple officials reiterated the call to combat oil smuggling.
"Akkar is one of the poorest and most deprived regions of Lebanon, and it is now living in an actual, not a metaphorical, hell," wrote Lebanese journalist Diana Moukalled on Twitter. "The fuel thieves and the criminal political class are responsible for the massacre of the night that killed twenty people and wounded."
The head of Lebanon's Kataeb Party and former MP, Samy Gemayel, expressed outrage at the explosion as well, calling for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to "take forceful decisions to stop the genocide against the Lebanese people & to liberate #Lebanon from the grip of its destructive rulers," in a tweet on Sunday.