A tragedy occurred on Tuesday in a restaurant in Beirut. A fire caused by the explosion of a gas cylinder killed at least eight people, reported the Minister of the Interior and firefighters.
Firefighters extinguished a fire in this small restaurant after “a gas leak caused an explosion in the restaurant,” the official news agency (Ani) said, citing firefighters in the Lebanese capital.
A problem with public safety standards
Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi, who visited the scene, told the press that at least eight people had been killed “by asphyxiation”. A report confirmed by the firefighters.
The accident “shows that this place did not respect public safety standards,” lamented MP Ibrahim Mneimneh, who also visited the scene. Lebanon’s economy has been in freefall since late 2019, worsening a long-standing public oversight problem across different sectors.