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More than a month after the devastating explosion in the port of Beirut, the fire reappears. The military reports on a burning warehouse. The cause of the fire is not clear so far.
In the Lebanese capital, Beirut, a month after the explosion of a chemical warehouse, another major fire broke out in the port. Live Lebanese television footage showed high flames and thick clouds of black smoke. One person had to be treated for smoke inhalation.
The Lebanese army said a warehouse had caught fire and was storing containers of cooking oil and tires in the duty-free sector of the port. The cause of the fire is not yet clear. Lebanese President Michel Aoun wrote on Twitter that the fire could have been the result of sabotage, technical failure or negligence.
According to civil protection, the fire is still being extinguished due to the mixture of rubber and burning oil. “Flammable materials like this take time to fully extinguish,” said Raymond Chattar, chief of civil protection.
Workers rush out of the port
In addition to the fire brigade, the army also participated in the extinguishing work, which used helicopters to fight the flames from the air. The army asked people to leave the surrounding neighborhoods. Eyewitnesses said nearby people fled in panic. A video on social media showed workers leaving the port.
“We were at work when all of a sudden they yelled at us to get out,” said Haitham, a 33-year-old port company worker. “It was welded and then there was a fire.” Then she dropped everything and ran.
Many city residents are still under the impact of the Aug. 4 explosion, which killed more than 190 people and injured more than 6,000. Much of the port and its surroundings were completely destroyed and around 300,000 people were left homeless. The explosion is said to have been triggered by large amounts of the highly explosive chemical ammonium nitrate that had been stored in the port for years.
