BEIRUT: A plastic factory owned by Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud went up in flames Sunday night, forcing the minister to leave the jury panel of the Miss Lebanon contest.
No injuries were reported as a result of the fire at the five-story factory in the Metn region of Mazraat Yachouh, which was still raging Monday morning.
Sources told The Daily Star that the Lebanese Civil Defense dispatched fire squads from across the country to fight the blaze when it broke out around midnight.
Abboud was on the panel judging the Miss Lebanon beauty contest at the time, and withdrew when news of the fire reached him, the sources said.
Civil Defense official George Abu Musa told The Daily Star via telephone from the scene Monday morning that fire squads had managed to distinguish parts of the fire.
“Crews are still battling to put out the fire,” Abu Musa said.
No other details were immediately available.
Yara Khoury-Mikhael was crowned Sunday night as Miss Lebanon following a lavish beauty pageant held at Beirut Souks.