The Lebanese army on Thursday discovered more than four tons of ammonium nitrate near the port of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, a month after the explosions in that area that killed at least 191 people.
According to military sources, Army experts were called in to carry out an inspection and ended up finding 4.35 tons of this dangerous fertilizer in four containers stored in an area close to the port of Beirut.
No details were given as to the origin of this chemical or its owner. This discovery is made precisely the day before a month after the August 4 tragedy, when 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded in the port of Beirut, causing at least 191 deaths, nearly 6,000 injured and nearly 300,000 displaced.
The August 4 explosions left a trail of destruction in the Lebanese capital, causing damage estimated at billions of dollars. In a statement, the Lebanese army indicated that the experts were “dealing with the potentially dangerous material”, in an apparent reference that it was being destroyed and neutralized. After the tragic explosions of August 4, this is not the first discovery of its kind.
On August 24, the Lebanese Army indicated that 79 containers of potentially dangerous material had been detected, which were being stored illegally in the port of Beirut.
Along with French experts, elements of the US federal police (FBI) are also participating in the investigation into the August 4 explosions, at the request of the Lebanese authorities. The results of this investigation have not yet been released.
So far, authorities have detained a total of 25 people, most of whom are port and customs officials.
Meanwhile, and after a month of the explosions, rescue workers were looking for a possible survivor under the rubble this Thursday in one of the districts of Beirut that was devastated after a thermal scanner detected a heartbeat, according to the governor of the Lebanese capital, Marwan Abboud.
The governor of Beirut reported that the first warning was given by a pisteiro dog from a Chilean rescue team deployed in the Lebanese capital. The thermal scanners picked up signals at the site, indicating the existence of one or two bodies under the rubble, according to the representative. “We hope someone will come out alive,” said the governor. Seven people remain missing after the blasts, according to the Lebanese army.
–
