Fire breaks out in benzene tank at oil facility in south Lebanon: Report

Fire breaks out in benzene tank at oil facility in south Lebanon: Report

A fire broke out in a tank containing the hydrocarbon benzene in the Zahrani oil facility in southern Lebanon on Monday, according to the country’s National News Agency (NNA).

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The blaze was contained around two-and-a-half hours after it started, the Lebanese prime minister's office said on Twitter citing Energy Minister Walid Fayad.

Nearby facilities were cooled to stop the spread of the fire, according to a security source cited by Reuters.

Traffic is being diverted away from a nearby road as a precaution, the source added.

The incident took place the day after the Zahrani power plant, one of the country’s biggest, was forced to shut on Saturday due to fuel shortages.

Power was restored to normal on Sunday, according to Lebanon’s Energy Ministry.

Local news channel al-Jadeed shared footage of the blaze on its Twitter feed.

The Lebanese Army evacuated the area near the oil facilities where the fire broke out, al-Jadeed reported.

Lebanese authorities did not make any immediate comment on the incident.

Power supplies were back to normal on Sunday after Lebanon’s Zahrani and Deir Ammar power plants shut due to fuel shortages the previous day, the country’s Energy Ministry said.

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