20 killed, 79 injured in Lebanon fuel truck explosion

As per details, the tragedy has heaped new misery on Lebanon which is already struck by an economic crisis and severe fuel shortages that have crippled hospitals and caused power cuts lasting 22 hours a day.

However, the main cause of the explosion was not immediately clear.

Videos from the blast circulating on social media showed a large fire consuming metal scraps.

The Red Cross on its official twitter handle wrote, “Our teams have transported 20 dead bodies … from the fuel tanker explosion in #AKKAR to hospitals in the area”.

It added that 79 other people were injured.

⚠️ Update ⚠️: 20 dead bodies and 79 wounded until this minute. pic.twitter.com/qBZygfJYyw

— Lebanese Red Cross (@RedCrossLebanon) August 15, 2021

Following the horrific incident nearby hospitals received dozens of burn victims along corpses.

The corpses are so charred that we can’t identify them,” said an official adding that some victims lost their faces, others their arms.

He said the hospital had to turn away most of the wounded because it is unable to treat severe burns.

On Saturday, the Lebanese army seized thousands of liters 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.

Meanwhile, Lebanon is facing soaring poverty, a plummeting currency, and shortages of basic items like medicine.

The recent blast is believed one of history’s largest non-nuclear explosions.