Tanios was both a father and a mother to his two daughters as he lost his wife when they were still young children. On August 4, 2020, he was in his patient bed at the Saint George University Hospital in Achrafieh during the explosion, and shards of glass hit his frail body. He was immediately evacuated to the American University of Beirut Medical Center, and he underwent two surgeries. Unfortunately, one month later he passed away.