Second Deadly Fire in Syrian Refugee Camp Kills 1

A massive fire has broken out in a camp for Syrian refugees in the Bekaa Valley in Bar Elias after midnight, killing one person and injuring many others, the National News Agency said on Tuesday.

Civil Defense firefighters extinguished the fire which broke out shortly after midnight burning down 22 tents out of 185 and killing one refugee and wounding 21, NNA said.

Information said a string of gas canister explosions erupted inside adjacent tents which made the fire outspread rapidly.

It was the second such deadly fire to hit refugee encampments in eastern Lebanon amid soaring temperatures. On Sunday, a fire ripped through another settlement near Qab Elias town, killing one person. The Red Cross said hundreds were evacuated.

It was unclear what caused Sunday's fire, but it was suspected that scorching temperatures of 36 degrees Celsius (96.8 Fahrenheit) and the valley's whipping winds may have been a factor.

Lebanon is home to more than one million refugees fleeing the conflict in neighboring Syria, many of whom live in informal tented settlements in the arid Bekaa Valley.