The fuel pipeline ablaze in Abdeh, North Lebanon, on Sept. 18, 2022. (Credit: Photo sent by our correspondent Michel Hallak)
BEIRUT — Within an hour of the blaze igniting, the Civil Defense had extinguished a fire that broke out in a disused fuel pipeline in the area of Abdeh in North Lebanon, L'Orient Today's correspondent in the region reported.
According to L'Orient Today's correspondent, the Civil Defense used material that counters the ignition of petrol products to douse the blaze.
Residents of the area thanked the Civil Defense and called on the management of Tripoli's oil and gas facilities to solve the recurring problems that arise as a result of leaks from the disused pipeline, which they say threaten their daily life and agricultural land, taint water sources and produce odours.
The pipeline, which was built nearly 90 years ago to transport fuel from Iraq to Lebanon, was shut down at the beginning of the Civil War in Lebanon in 1975. Leaks from the pipeline have been regular occurrences in recent years, and residents have called on the authorities to deal with this recurring problem.
In September 2021 the associate director-general of Tripoli's oil facilities, Hadi al-Houssami, reported that the damage to the Iraqi pipeline was caused by attempts to siphon fuel from it.
Additional reporting: Michel Hallak