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Burning tank: fire and smoke over the Sahrani plant
Photo: MAHMOUD ZAYYAT / AFP
The fire brigade extinguished a major fire in a refinery in southern Lebanon.
The Lebanese news agency ANI reports that the fire broke out on a tank filled with gasoline in the refinery.
Clouds of black smoke had risen over the Sahrani plant, some 50 kilometers south of Beirut.
Energy Minister Walid Fayad said the fire broke out when workers were transferring gasoline from one storage tank to another.
The fire, which lasted more than three hours, burned almost 250,000 liters of gasoline.
No one was reportedly injured.
"The situation is almost completely under control now," said Fayad.
He had previously stated that the gasoline was intended for the Lebanese army.
Soldiers had cordoned off the area around the refinery.
The highway that connects Beirut with the south of the country was also partially closed.
Power failure on Saturday
Lebanon is currently being hit by a severe economic crisis.
The country is struggling with gasoline and drug shortages, among other things.
On Saturday, the Sahrani and Deir Ammar power plants ceased operations because their oil supplies were exhausted.
As a result, there was a nationwide power outage.
The power supply has been restored to a limited extent since Sunday.
ptz / AFP / AP