Fuel tanker explodes in Lebanon, killing 20

The site in Tleil. Pic/AFP

A fuel tanker truck exploded early Sunday in northern Lebanon, killing 20 people and wounding dozens more, the Lebanese Red Cross said. It was not immediately clear what caused the blast. The Lebanese Red Cross said its teams recovered 20 bodies from the site of the explosion in the village of Tleil and evacuated 79 people who were injured or suffered burns in the blast.

Lebanon's Health Minister Hamad Hassan called on hospitals in northern Lebanon and capital, Beirut, to receive the injured, adding the government will pay for their treatment. Hospitals in northern Lebanon were calling on people to donate blood of all types. The explosion comes as Lebanon faces a severe fuel shortage that has been blamed on smuggling, hoarding and the cash-strapped government's inability to secure deliveries of imported fuel.

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