Huge fire breaks out at oil facility in southern Lebanon

By FADI TAWIL
Associated Press

ZAHRANI, Lebanon (AP) — State media reports that a huge fire has broken out at an oil facility in southern Lebanon, sending a thick column of smoke into the sky. The state-run National News Agency said Monday that the fire ignited in a giant gasoline tanker in the coastal village of Zahrani. The cause was not clear. It comes after a fire at Beirut’s port in August 2020 preceded a massive explosion that killed at least 215 people, wounded thousands more and destroyed the facility and nearby neighborhoods. The blast at Beirut’s port was caused by hundreds of tons of explosive ammonium nitrate used in fertilizers that had been improperly stored for years.