Rescue workers in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Thursday detected signs of life under the rubble of a building. That collapsed after the massive explosion in the port on August 4, which killed about 190 people.
–
According to the state news agency NNA, a rescue team with a sniffer dog detected “movement” under a building near Gemmayze. “These signs of respiration and heart rate, along with the temperature sensor, mean there is a possibility of life,” rescue worker Eddy Bitar told reporters. Youssef Malah, of the Civil Defense, stated, “99 percent chance it’s nothing, but even if there is less than 1 percent chance, we have to keep looking.”
According to CNNi Middle East correspondent Tamara Qiblawi, the thermal images show a larger and smaller body. The smaller, possibly a child, would show a breath.
Angry crowd
However, after hours of efforts, the rescue operation was suspended on Thursday evening because it proved too dangerous for rescuers to continue to search through the rubble. A crane would be needed to continue working safely, but it would not be on site until the next morning.
Bystanders reacted furiously to the news, and Qiblawi reported via Twitter that residents themselves arranged a faucet to continue the search. The rescue services then announced that they would soon restart their search.
–Photo: AP
