April 12 (UPI) -- An explosion at a building in the southwestern Lebanese town of Banaafoul on Tuesday killed the mayor's son and injured several others, officials said.
The blast occurred at a two-story building in Banaafoul and destroyed the structure, which was a local headquarters for the Shiite Amal militia. The militia is led by Lebanese lawmaker Nabih Berri.
The Amal Movement, a Lebanese political party, was said to have used the site to store ammunition and weapons. The movement said Tuesday that a fire at the site exploded oxygen tanks that were used to treat COVID-19 patients.
Nearby vehicles and Banaafoul's town hall were also damaged in the blast, which prompted an investigation and a military search for victims, according to Lebanon's National News Agency.
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Officials said the blast killed Ali Al Raz, the son of Banaafoul Mayor Tawfiq Al Raz. Banaafoul is located near the port city of Sidon on the Mediterranean coast.
The cause of the explosion wasn't immediately clear, but one official said that it might have been set off by diesel fuel stored in the building.
A similar explosion rocked the Lebanese capital of Beirut in 2020 when a large amount of stored ammonium nitrate caught fire and detonated in Beirut. The blast killed more than 200 people and injured 7,000 others in the Port of Beirut in the Lebanese capital.
The cause of that explosion is still under investigation, but officials suspect that the large warehouse stockpile of ammonium nitrate wasn't stable after years of storage.
Evidence later emerged indicating that government officials did little to protect Beirut residents despite being aware of the potential danger.
