Lebanon is grappling with a severe fuel shortage, which has led to long lines and increased blackouts at gas stations.
Military and security sources said the Lebanese military had seized a hidden fuel storage tank in the town of Altalil and was in the middle of handing gasoline to residents when the explosion occurred.
Witnesses said about 200 people were nearby at the time of the blast.
There were different accounts about the cause of the explosion.
“There was a crowd of people, and an argument between some of them led to shots fired, which hit the gasoline tank and hence it exploded,” a security source said, adding that the army and security forces were among the casualties. was a member of.
The local al-Jadeed TV channel told eyewitnesses that a man who lit the lighter was the cause.
Abdelrahman, whose face and body were covered in mist as he lay in Tripoli’s al-Salam hospital, was one of the few who received the precious gasoline.
“There were hundreds of people gathered there, right next to the tank, and God only knows what happened to them,” he said.
The father of another casualty at the hospital said he has two other sons who are yet to be traced.
The Red Cross, which said its teams were still searching for the blast site, shared on Twitter a photo of several people walking inside a large crater.
Angry residents gathered at the site and set fire to two dump trucks in Akkar, one of Lebanon’s poorest areas, according to a Reuters eyewitness.
Rashid Maqsood, an official with the Islamic Medical Association, said some of the injured were sent to hospitals in nearby Tripoli, while others were sent to Beirut.
Dr Salah Ishaq of Al-Salam Hospital said most of the injured were in critical condition. “We can’t accommodate them. We don’t have the capabilities. It’s a very bad situation.”
Lebanese hospitals have warned that fuel shortages could force them to close in the coming days, and have also reported short supplies of medicines and other essentials.
Former prime minister Saad al-Hariri said on Twitter, “The Akkar massacre is no different from the (Beirut) port massacre,” calling on Lebanese officials, including the president, to take responsibility and resign.
Hariri is a prominent Sunni Muslim politician, the dominant religion in the north of Lebanon, and openly opposed to Lebanese President Michel Aoun.
“This tragedy with our dear Akkar has bled the hearts of all Lebanese people,” Aun wrote on Twitter, adding that he called on the judiciary to investigate the circumstances that led to the explosion.
Reuters was unable to immediately reach the Red Cross and Lebanese officials for comment.
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