BEIRUT, July 4 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed and 21 others were wounded in a massive fire that engulfed a Syrian refugee camp in eastern Lebanon early Tuesday, a security source told Xinhua.
The blaze, which hit the camp in the Bekaa Valley in Bar Elias shortly after midnight, was later extinguished by Lebanese firefighters after burning down 22 tents out of 185, said the source, who spoke under condition of anonymity.
A number of gas canister explosions occurred as the fire quickly spread to nearby tents.
Earlier reports said one child was killed in the fire, which was suspected to be caused by gas leak from one of the tents.
It was the second such deadly fire in the past days to hit the refugee encampments in eastern Lebanon amid soaring temperatures.
On Sunday, a fire ripped through another settlement near Qab Elias town, killing one person. The Red Cross said hundreds were evacuated.
It was unclear what caused Sunday's fire, but it was suspected that scorching temperatures of 36 degrees Celsius (96.8 Fahrenheit) and the valley's whipping winds may have been a factor.
Lebanon is home to more than 1.1 million Syrian refugees who fled their war-torn country since the rebellion against the government of President Bashar al-Assad erupted in March 2011, according to the United Nations Higher Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
The Lebanese government puts the number of Syrian refugees at around 1.5 million.
