300,000 left homeless in Beirut
■ STATE OF EMERGENCY IN CITY AS TOLL SOARS TO 135 ■ PORT OFFICIALS PLACED UNDER HOUSE ARREST ■ UAE DISPATCHES EMERGENCY MEDICAL AID ■ WORLD RUSHES HELP TO CRISIS-HIT LEBANON
Lebanese rescue teams pulled out bodies and hunted for missing in the wreckage of buildings yesterday as investigations blamed negligence for a massive warehouse explosion that sent a devastating blast wave across Beirut, killing at least 135.
More than 5,000 people were injured in Tuesday’s explosion at Beirut port, and up to 300,000 were left without homes fit to live in after shockwaves smashed building facades, sucked furniture out into streets and shattered windows miles inland.
Losses to reach $15 billion
Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud said that collective losses might reach $10 billion to $15 billion. President Michel Aoun said 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, used in fertilisers and bombs, had been stored for six years at the port without safety measures, after it was seized.
“On a scale, this explosion is scaled down from a nuclear bomb rather than up from a conventional bomb,” said Roland Alford, of British explosive ordnance disposal firm Alford Technologies. “This is huge.”
Earthquake-strength blast
A security source said the explosive power of the stored ammonium nitrate was equivalent to at least 1,200 tonnes of TNT — explaining how the earthquake-strength blast destroyed or damaged so much of the city. Port authorities and customs officials knew the chemical was being stored in the port, and one of the country’s top security agencies had called for it to be relocated.
Main grain silo destroyed
The cabinet ordered port officials involved in storing or guarding the material since 2014 to be put under house arrest. The cabinet also announced a twoweek state of emergency in Beirut. Lebanon’s main grain silo at the port was destroyed, leaving the nation with less than a month’s wheat reserves.
Offers of international support poured in. His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, ordered the dispatch of 30 tonnes of medical equipment and aid on his personal aircraft to Beirut.
Macron heads to Beirut
The US, Britain, France and other Western nations also offered help. Two French planes were expected to arrive today with 55 rescuers, medical equipment and a mobile clinic. French President Emmanuel Macron will also visit Lebanon today. Other Arab and European countries are sending doctors, mobile hospitals and equipment.
Hariri verdict delayed
The blast prompted the Special Tribunal for Lebanon yesterday to postpone its verdict in the trial over the 2005 bombing that killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri to August 18. The tribunal’s decision had been expected tomorrow.