BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP)— Four people died Friday evening in a fire and explosion that struck a fuel depot in a densely-populated district of Beirut, the Lebanese Red Cross said in an updated toll.

“The number of victims increased to four”, the Red Cross said on its Twitter account of the explosion in Tariq el-Jdide.

An explosion and a fuel tank fire in the Lebanese capital Friday panic in a city already ravaged by last month’s monster blast, rescuers said.

The fire and blast struck the bustling district of Tariq al-Jdide, Lieutenant Ali Najm of the fire brigade told AFP.

Lebanese Red Cross head Georges Kettane told Al-Jadeed news channel that two bodies were found.

The state-run National News Agency said a fuel tank exploded, sparking a fire and causing casualties.

More than 20 people were hurt, according to Al-Jadeed television, which ran footage showing flames leaping into the night sky.

The immediate cause of the fire was not known.

Several fires have broken out at Beirut’s port since a cataclysmic August 4 explosion killed 203 people, injured at least 6,500 others and ravaged swathes of the capital.

That blast came as Lebanon struggles with its worst financial crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war and political strife, compounded by the coronavirus pandemic.