Lebanon: Massive Blaze Burns Lakhs Of Litres Of Oil At Al-Zahrani Storage Depot Near Country's Main Power Plant

On October 11, a massive fire broke out in a fuel storage tank at Lebanon’s Zahrani oil facility. Firefighters extinguished the blaze after it sent orange flames and a thick black column of smoke into the sky. Reportedly, it took more than three hours to contain and extinguish the huge blaze. Walid Fayad, Energy Minister said the fire broke out when workers were transferring gasoline from one storage tank to another in the coastal town of Zahrani, reported Associated Press (AP). Fayad said close to 250,000 liters of gasoline were burnt during the blaze, which lasted more than three hours. There were no injuries or casualties reported. The fire was reported at a time when the cash-strapped Lebanon struggles due to serious power problem. Fayyad had said that the storage tank was for the Lebanese army. Cause of the fire is still not known. Zahrani Oil Installation is close to one of Lebanon’s main power stations, which stopped functioning two days ago due to a fuel shortage.