Firefighters on Sunday failed to extinguish a blaze at an oil depot on the outskirts of Tripoli, sparking fears of a huge fireball that could cause carnage over a wide area.
The authorities rushed to evacuate people from their homes in the area along the road to the airport, where rival militias have been fighting each other for the past two weeks. The depot, about 10 kilometres from the libyan capital, caught fire on Sunday when it was hit by rockets fired by the combatants, who are jostling for control of the airport.
Containing six million litres of fuel, the plant was burning steadily and the authorities feared the blaze could spread to a natural gas reservoir in the same plant, run by state-owned National Oil Corp, where 90 million litres are stored.
“There is a risk of a massive explosion which could cause damage over a radius of three to five kilometres,” spokesman Mohamed al-Hrari said. “Firefighters have been trying for hours to put out the blaze but to no avail. Their water reserves finally ran out and they’ve had to leave,” he said.