BEIRUT: A gas tank explosion at a cosmetics factory 40 kilometers north of Beirut sparked a major fire Friday that spread to two nearby buildings and injured at least three people, security sources said.
The factory, owned by Elie Antoine Maalouf in an industrial neighborhood in Adonis, caught fire around 5 p.m. Friday, the sources said. They explained that the structure produced shampoo, soap and cosmetics, including hairspray.
Flammable chemicals used to make some of the products may explain the rapid speed at which the fire spread. All three floors of the building were engulfed in flames.
Civil Defense confirmed that the fire resulted from a gas tank explosion inside the factory, and said their firefighting teams were trying to put it out.
Industry Minister Hussein Hajj Hasan said preliminary information indicated that the fire was caused by a gas leakage which happened when a gas tank driver hit the factory’s outer wall. The gas spread and reacted with the chemicals inside the factory, leading to the explosion and fire.
Lebanese Red Cross chief Georges Kettaneh told MTV that three people inside the factory were injured in the fire, and that it had spread to two neighboring buildings.
The nearby buildings were evacuated, Kettaneh added.
Hajj Hasan expressed his deep regrets about the accident, expressing his relief that no one was killed by the fire. The minister said that the factory was licensed by the Industry Ministry and met the technical requirements it stipulated.
Such incidents have become a regular occurrence, with many factories in Lebanon not resorting to required safety measures.
Last month, a large fire swept through a factory north of Beirut that specializes in fire-rated wood, leaving seven employees injured and one missing. The fire erupted on the second floor of a factory owned by Khalil Matar in the industrial zone of Dikwaneh, in the Metn district of Mount Lebanon.
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