A lorry carrying gas bottles caught fire on the motorway north of Beirut on Friday, sending columns of flames high into the air and blocking traffic on the vital arterial route across Lebanon.
Nobody was injured but several nearby cars, the facade and balconies of a nearby apartment and electricity pylons were all damaged in the blaze on Friday afternoon.
The incident, on the motorway north of Beirut, closed the road around Zouk Mosbeh and led to a long tailback of cars.
The motorway is the main route from Tripoli in the north, through the densely populated coastal region of Mount Lebanon and down to Beirut.
“Jounieh Civil Defence personnel rushed to the spot and were able to put out the fire. The damage was only material,” the state-run National News Agency reported.
“Civil defence elements are working to ensure public safety at the explosion site until the operations of lifting the remains of the wreckage from the scene," Civil Defence said.
With the fire under control, Lebanon’s Traffic Management Centre reported at about 2pm that traffic was starting to flow again on one lane.
The Civil Defence said that no one was injured and the NNA stated that the fire only caused material damage. Local media reported that the driver was able to escape the cab before it burst into flames but they had been unable to contact him.
