The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Lebanon told reforms needed
● Warning by visiting French president as probe into huge blast under way
Lebanese officials targeted in the investigation into the massive blast that tore through Beirut have sought to shift blame for the presence of explosives at the city’s port.
It comes as visiting French President Emmanuel Macron warned that without serious reforms the country will “continue to sink”.
The blast on Tuesday, which appeared to have been caused by an accidental fire that ignited a warehouse full of ammonium nitrate at the city’s port, rippled across the Lebanese capital, killing at least 135 people, injuring more than 5,000 and causing widespread destruction.
It also may have accelerated the country’s coronavirus outbreak, as thousands flooded into hospitals in the wake of theblast.
Tens of thousands of people have also been forced to move in with relatives and friends after their homes were damaged, further raising the risks of exposure.
Mr Macron visited yesterday amid widespread pledges of international aid.
But it is unclear how much support the international community will offer the notoriously corrupt and dysfunctional government.
Mr Macron, who viewed the devastated port and was to meet senior Lebanese officials, said the visit is “an opportunity to have a frank and challenging dialogue with the Lebanese political powers and institutions”.
He said France will work to co-ordinate aid but warned “if reforms are not made, Lebanon will continue to sink”.
Losses from the blast are estimated to be between £7.6 billion and £11.4bn, Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud told the Saudi-owned TV station Al-Hadath, adding that nearly 300,000 people are homeless.
The head of Lebanon’s customs department said in an interview with LBC TV that officials had sent five or six letters over the years to the judiciary asking for the ammonium nitrate to be removed because of the dangers it posed.
But Badri Daher said all he could do was alert authorities to the presence of dangerous materials, saying even that was “extra work” for him and his predecessor.
He said the port authority was responsible for the material; his job was to prevent smuggling and collect duties.
The judiciary and the port authority could not be reached for comment.
The government said an investigation is under way and port officials have been placed under house arrest.
The investigation into the explosion is focused on how 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive chemical used in fertilisers, came to be stored at the port facility for six years after being confiscated from a ship.
The stockpile is believed to have detonated after a fire broke out nearby in what appeared to be a fireworks warehouse.
Another theory is that the fire began when welders were trying to repair a broken gate and a hole in the wall of Hangar 12, where the explosive material was being stored.