Beirut, Jan 1 (AP) Celebratory gunfire to ring in the New Year killed a Syrian woman living as a refugee in eastern Lebanon and struck an airplane parked at Beirut's airport in two separate incidents, Lebanon's official news agency said on Friday.

The Syrian woman died early on Friday after a bullet struck her in the head in a refugee camp in Baalbek, according to the National News Agency.

The Middle East Airlines plane on the tarmac at Beirut's airport was hit as people in the vicinity of the southern Beirut neighbourhood fired in the air in celebration. The plane later took off as scheduled after engineers made sure it was safe to fly.

Shooting from guns and rifles into the air in celebration is common in some parts of Lebanon at events such as weddings, funerals, when political leaders give speeches — and even when a student passes high school exams.

In September, Lebanon's leading soccer player Mohammed Atwi died, nearly a month after he was struck in the head by a stray bullet fired by mourners during a funeral for one of the victims of this summer's massive Beirut port explosion. Atwi was 33. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)