Hunt on for Russian who dumped the killer cargo
LEBANESE authorities were warned numerous times about the danger of storing nearly 3,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate before it destroyed parts of Beirut on Tuesday.
Officials were last night accused of ‘crimes against humanity’ for six years of inaction before the blast.
And reports said the hunt was on for the Russian businessman thought to have abandoned the contents at the port in 2013.
As a blame game began, customs officials said they warned judges the 2,750 tonnes should be moved from the port at least five times from 2014 to 2017 – but nothing was done.
A letter sent in 2016 warned of the ‘serious danger’ of storing such cargo. It called for the material to be exported ‘immediately’ to ‘preserve the safety of the port’.
Yesterday the country’s political leaders said those responsible would be ‘punished’ for the disaster.
But customs officials pointed the finger of blame back at them – saying they were warned of the danger but failed to act. Raghida Dergham, founder of the Beirut Institute, said storing ammonium nitrate in a ‘civilian port is a crime against humanity’, adding: ‘Had I been home, I would have lost my life.’
The cargo arrived in Lebanon in October 2013 on the Rhosus ship – then said to be owned by Cyprus-based Russian businessman Igor Grechushkin.
According to reports, the Rhosus was travelling from
Georgia to Mozambique but technical difficulties forced it to stop at Beirut where it failed a safety inspection so could not continue its journey. Mr Grechushkin
then reportedly abandoned the ship. Four crew members were made to stay on the ship and in July 2014, a maritime website chillingly reported: ‘Crew kept hostage on a floating bomb’. Shortly after, the crew could travel home and a judge ruled that the cargo could be disembarked at Beirut port’s warehouse. When the crew arrived home, they said they were owed more than €100,000 in wages. The Cypriot security services were urgently seeking a Russian man linked to the explosion, Greek media reported last night. Mr Grechushkin has not commented on the claims.