Fire outbreak kills Syrian refugee in Lebanon

On Sunday, a large fire ripped through a camp for Syrian refugees in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, killing at least one baby, and injuring six others and leaving them in critical condition, a UN refugees official at the camp disclosed.

Routers reports that “flames and thick clouds of black smoke rose from the site near the town of Qab Elias, around a hour’s drive east of Beirut, in footage broadcast by Lebanon’s MTV, and at least one explosion was seen”

It was further reported that footage showed the blaze had virtually razed the camp as a fire truck doused down the still-smoldering ground. A Syrian refugee said many of the people living at the camp had come to Lebanon from the Raqqa area of Syria.

UNHCR spokeswoman Dana Sleiman said the camp had been home to 102 families.

“We’ve started the assessment as to how many tents have been damaged. As soon as the assessment is done, we will provide the families with all the help they need. Apparently it started with a cooking stove. We are waiting to confirm that,” she said.

Sleiman and a Lebanese security source had initially put the death toll at three, Router disclosed.

ABC News gathered that Ahmed Salloum, a member of the local emergency services, said the fire turned the tent camp near Qab Elias town into “ashes.” He said firefighters and emergency workers struggled for over two hours to contain the fire that broke out around midday. Temperatures are soaring in Lebanon’s Bekaa region, and Salloum, an electricity technician, said he suspected an overload of power was to blame.

“The settlement has turned to ashes. Even the iron melted,” Salloum said.

Lebanon has one million registered Syrian refugees, but believes the number is more like 1.5 million. As citizens have become displaced by more than six years of fighting in their own country, most live in Syrians now makeshift camps dotted around Lebanon.