Four victims of a fuel tanker explosion in northern Lebanon died in quick succession on Sunday, taking the death toll to 31.
They included Hassan Al Maslamani, one of three men flown to Abu Dhabi for treatment after the blast one week ago.
“This number can still increase,” Jean Helou, the director of the medical directorate at Lebanon’s health ministry, told The National.
He said 32 people were being treated for injuries sustained in the blast on August 15, several of whom were in hospital abroad.
Al Maslamani, 31, and two others were treated at the burns unit of Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City.
The UAE bore the expense, said Fouad Dandan, Lebanon’s ambassador to the country. He said the two surviving patients were in stable condition and doctors had said they were likely to recover.
Al Maslamani’s body was to be flown to Lebanon on Sunday evening.
The state-run National News Agency reported that a fourth man suffering from severe burns died on Sunday afternoon. Mahmoud Hussein Awad, a Syrian national, was a resident of the town of Al Kouachra, close to the Syrian border.
A Lebanese soldier, Corporal Raed Al Hassan, was buried on Sunday morning in Al Daouseh, where he was from, two days after four members of the same family were laid to rest in the town. All had died in the blast.
Al Hassan was taken to Turkey on Wednesday alongside an injured civilian. Caretaker health minister Hamad Hasan said they had suffered burns to 90 per cent of their bodies.
On Saturday, the NNA reported that a Syrian man, Omar Al Jadaa, had died from severe burns sustained in the explosion.
Two of his brothers were also killed by the blast, and the NNA said their grandmother died after hearing of Al Jadaa’s death.
The siblings were among the crowd that rushed to take fuel from a tanker that had been seized by the army on the evening of August 14 in the village of Al Tleil in Akkar, a remove and impoverished region.
Soldiers had previously been deployed across the country to clamp down on hoarded fuel.
The army distributed the fuel confiscated in Al Tleil to locals, in a move repeated around the country.
Soldiers who witnessed the incident early the next morning told The National the son of the fuel’s owner angrily tried to put a stop to the distribution and that shots were subsequently fired.
The Red Cross reported 79 injured on the day of the blast. It came as a severe blow to Lebanon, which is already battling its worst economic crisis, compounded by Covid-19 and the huge explosion in Beirut last year.
“Lebanese leaders have burnt the country and turned us into beggars,” Fawzi Hammad, a retired labourer from Akkar who lost three relatives in the blast, previously told The National.
The NNA reported on Sunday that relatives of Hani Suleiman, who was injured in the blast, had blocked a road in the town of Al Bireh in Akkar in protest because he had not been transferred abroad for treatment, despite his mother’s pleas for help.
Six more injured are expected to be taken to Kuwait on Sunday evening.
Lebanon’s cash-strapped hospitals are struggling to meet patients’ basic needs, including supplying them with intravenous fluid.
Electricity shortages have forced many to turn off cooling systems, despite the intense summer heat and humidity.
A committee dedicated to following up on the explosion, and which includes mayors from several towns of Akkar, criticised President Michel Aoun on Sunday for his apparent lack of empathy.
Mr Aoun “did not offer his condolences in last night’s speech to the families of the victims and wounded, and did not address the tragedy that befell the people of Akkar, in which dozens were killed, mostly soldiers,” the committee said.
They called on the Justice Ministry to clarify the course of the investigation into the reasons of the explosion.
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
More on animal trafficking
CHELSEA SQUAD
Arrizabalaga, Bettinelli, Rudiger, Christensen, Silva, Chalobah, Sarr, Azpilicueta, James, Kenedy, Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Saul, Barkley, Ziyech, Pulisic, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Werner, Havertz, Lukaku.
THE DEALS
Hamilton $60m x 2 = $120m
Vettel $45m x 2 = $90m
Ricciardo $35m x 2 = $70m
Verstappen $55m x 3 = $165m
Leclerc $20m x 2 = $40m
TOTAL $485m
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'
Rating: 3/5
Directed by: David Yates
Starring: Mads Mikkelson, Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, Jude Law
Leaderboard
63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)
66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)
67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)
68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)
69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
Score
Third Test, Day 1
New Zealand 229-7 (90 ov)
Pakistan
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat
'HIJRAH%3A%20IN%20THE%20FOOTSTEPS%20OF%20THE%20PROPHET'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEdited%20by%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Idries%20Trevathan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20240%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hirmer%20Publishers%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
The biog
Favourite food: Fish and seafood
Favourite hobby: Socialising with friends
Favourite quote: You only get out what you put in!
Favourite country to visit: Italy
Favourite film: Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Family: We all have one!
Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')
Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
Brief scores:
QPR 0
Watford 1
Capoue 45' 1
Match info
What: Fifa Club World Cup play-off
Who: Al Ain v Team Wellington
Where: Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
When: Wednesday, kick off 7.30pm
