At least 28 people have been killed and 79 injured when a fuel tank exploded in northern Lebanon, the health ministry says.

Military and security sources said the army had seized a fuel storage tank hidden by black marketeers and was handing out gasoline to residents when the explosion occurred early on Sunday (local time)

Abdelrahman, whose face and body was covered in gauze as he laid in Tripoli’s al-Salam hospital, was one of those in line to get gasoline.

“There were hundreds gathered there, right next to the tank, and God only knows what happened to them,” he said.

The father of another casualty at the hospital said he had two other sons he still hadn’t located.

Lebanon is suffering from a severe fuel shortage, leading to long lines at gas stations and extended blackouts. The disaster happened in the town of Altalil, in the Akkar region that is one of Lebanon’s poorest areas.

Terrible injuries

About 200 people were nearby at the time of the explosion, eyewitnesses said.

Health minister Hamad Hassan said the worst cases of burns probably needed quick treatment abroad to save their lives.

Army and security forces personnel were among the casualties, sources said.

Accounts varied as to what caused the explosion.

“There was a rush of people, and arguments between some of them led to gunfire which hit the tank of gasoline and so it exploded,” said a security source.

Local Al-Jadeed TV channel offered an alternative explanation, reporting eyewitnesses that it was caused by a person who ignited a lighter.

The Red Cross said its teams were still searching the explosion site.

Angry residents in Akkar gathered at the site and set fire to two dump trucks, according to a Reuters witness.

With Lebanon deep in economic crisis, hospitals have warned that fuel shortages may force them to shut down in coming days, and have also reported low supplies of medicines and other essentials.

“The Akkar massacre is no different from the port massacre,” said former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri on Twitter, referring to last year’s massive explosion at the port in Beirut.

-AAP