At least five people were killed Monday and several others hurt in an apparently accidental explosion inside a petrol station in east Beirut, Lebanese police reports said, dpa reported.
Red Cross volunteers at the scene said "the explosion was the result of a malfunction during the welding of one of the fuel tanks," inside the filling station in the Christian neighborhood of Ashrafiyeh, east of Beirut.
So far police have out any "terrorist attack."
The blast caused severe damage to nearby buildings as well as panic among the residents of the area.