On Sunday, an official at the Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that the number of victims of the Akkar (North) explosion had risen to 28.

In a statement to Anadolu Agency, a Lebanese Health Ministry official, who preferred not to be named as he was not authorized to speak with the media, said that the number of victims of the fuel tank explosion in Akkar (north) has risen to 28.

And earlier on Sunday, the Ministry of Health announced, in inconclusive estimates, the death of 22 and the injury of more than 79 others, as a result of the explosion of a fuel tank in the town of Al-Talil in the Akkar district (north).

Following the incident, Lebanese President Michel Aoun called for an “extraordinary” meeting of the Higher Defense Council, on Sunday afternoon, to discuss the repercussions of the explosion of a fuel tank in Akkar.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese army announced, in a statement, the arrest of the son of the owner of the plot of land where the fuel tank exploded in the Akkar region, in the north of the country.

The explosion occurred in a hidden tank containing thousands of liters of gasoline, after it was discovered by a group of young men in the area, and citizens rushed to fill it with fuel, according to local media.

Since Saturday, several Lebanese regions have witnessed security raids on fuel stations and tanks whose owners hide fuels (gasoline and diesel) in order to monopolize and sell them at high prices.

Because of a severe economic crisis, Lebanon has been witnessing for months a shortage of fuel, medicine and other basic commodities, due to the lack of foreign exchange that the Central Bank used to secure in order to support the import of these materials.