A picture taken on July 28, 2014 shows Libyan firefighters dousing a huge blaze at an oil tank started by clashes around Tripoli airport on July 28, 2014 in southern Tripoli. AFP PHOTO / MOHAMED ELBOSIFI
TRIPOLI – A huge fire at a fuel depot near Tripoli’s international airport is raging “out of control”, Libyan authorities announced on Monday.
A second reservoir caught fire in a “very dangerous” development following a oil tank blaze triggered by clashes around the airport.
“The situation is very dangerous after a second fire broke out at another petroleum depot,” the government said, warning of a “disaster with unforeseeable consequences”.
Firefighters had been battling to get the fire under control but ongoing clashes repeatedly forced them to flee the area.
A spokesman for the National Oil Company said: “The firefighters have now left the scene. The situation is out of control.”
The government urged residents “living within a three-kilometre radius of the scene (of the fire) to leave their homes immediately.”