A major fire broke out Tuesday morning at a gas station in Hermel, in the northern Bekaa (North Lebanon), resulting in three fatalities, all children, and several injuries, according to the Civil Defense.

In a statement, the Civil Defense explained that the fire was caused by a fuel leak from a tanker truck unloading its cargo, which caused the fire to spread rapidly. The fire damaged 15 cars parked nearby, a tanker truck and a building whose first floor contained five shops and the second floor two residential apartments. The slippery nature of the ground and the location of the station in a densely populated residential area contributed to the extent of the damage, further complicating firefighting operations.

Two Lebanese children who were in a car parked at the station were killed, and their grandfather was seriously injured. A Syrian child who was in another vehicle also died, and two individuals of the same nationality who were with him were injured and are in critical condition. Two other Lebanese also suffered various injuries and were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment. According to the state-run National News Agency, the Lebanese Red Cross transported a wounded soldier by helicopter to a Beirut hospital due to the seriousness of his condition. The head of the Civil Defense center in Laboué was also injured during firefighting operations and had to be hospitalized, the Civil Defense said.

The fire was brought under control at 2:20 p.m. Cooling operations are underway.

The sound of the explosion sowed panic among the villagers, who initially mistook the blast for an airstrike, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent in the region. A few days prior, Israeli jets targeted several towns in the Bekaa and Hermel regions, including Hosh al-Sayed Ali and Qasr, on the border with Syria.

In January, major fires broke out at the Masri gas station on the Abdeh sea road in Akkar (North Lebanon) and at the Coral gas station in Sin al-Fil (Mount Lebanon).