One dead as blast rips through building in Lebanon

An explosion ripped through a building in southern Lebanon early on Tuesday, killing one person and wounding several others, a security official said.

The blast in the town of Banaafoul, near the port city of Sidon, demolished the building that had served as the local authority headquarters and a scout centre for the Shiite Amal militia, headed by parliament speaker Nabih Berri.

According to the security official, the dead person was the son of the town’s mayor.

Five people were injured, the official said. It was not clear what triggered the blast, which also damaged nearby buildings and cars.

The official said the explosion may have been caused by diesel fuel stored inside the building.

Other unconfirmed reports said the building contained a weapons cache. Army personnel sealed off the building as they searched through the rubble.

Samira Mustafa, whose nearby house was damaged, said she saw smoke and the sound of popping before the explosion.

“I ran as stones fell on my head,” she said.

Such explosions are not uncommon in Lebanon, particularly in the country’s south, awash with weapons.

Late last year, arms stored for the Palestinian Hamas group exploded in a building in a Palestinian refugee camp in the south Lebanon port city of Tyre, injuring a dozen people.

Hamas denied it had kept weapons there and said the explosion was caused by oxygen tanks stored in the building.