![[FILE] A firefighter tries to extinguish a fire in an oil storage tank at the main oil refinery in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen, 12 January 2019. According to reports, a massive fire engulfed an oil storage tank holding 7,000 tonnes of diesel at the main oil refinery in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden, causing a lot of damage. EFE-EPA/NAJEEB ALMAHBOOBI](https://i0.wp.com/efe.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/rss-efe1461665eb2378bf74c276e4dbe9274dbaf22c7a0w.jpg?fit=1920%2C1280&ssl=1)
Sana’a, Jan 12 (EFE).- Several people died and more than 70 suffered injuries after an explosion of a liquefied gas depot in a central area of Yemen, medical sources said on Sunday.
The explosion occurred on Saturday afternoon in the remote district of Al Zahir, in the province of Al Bayda, about 270 km southeast of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, and instantly killed five people.
Shortly later, another five died in a local hospital due to their serious injuries, sources told EFE.
However, Anees al Asbahi, the health ministry spokesperson for the Houthi-led rebel government in Yemen, told EFE that 17 people were killed and 74 injured, of which 50 were serious.
The sources said most of the injured suffered severe burns from the fires caused by the explosion.
Witnesses told EFE that a fire in one of the fuel storage tanks at a gas station in Al Zahir caused four explosions in an adjacent gas storage tank, sparking massive fireballs.
Fires and explosions at gas stations and fuel depots are common in Yemen, an impoverished country in the southern Arabian Peninsula, battling a civil conflict since 2014.
Gas stations and fuel depots in Yemen are used to refuel vehicles and gas cylinders for cooking, often neglecting safety measures.
Last August, five people died and another 13 were injured after two powerful explosions at a liquefied gas station in the port city of Aden, in southern Yemen. EFE
ja-fa-sk
