Beirut is still burning. A violent fire breaks out amid the rubble of the port

A tall column of black smoke rose above the city, obscuring the sky. Firefighters, local media reported, are trying to put out the flames. They rushed to the place with their means of transport in which photos of companions who died a month ago were attached.

On the afternoon of August 4, around 6 pm local time, a double explosion destroyed half of the city. The affected area, with entire buildings destroyed and rubble everywhere, is that of the port. The main explosion was related to 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been confiscated in 2014 by the Lebanese government from the abandoned ship M / N Rhosus and left in the port without security measures until the day of the disaster. Almost 200 people died and 6,500 were injured. The citizens of the capital, still traumatized, reacted to this second tragedy, panicking. Images and videos of the fire have been published on social networks, almost all accompanied by the same incredulous and shocked comment: “Again? No.”

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“There is no risk of explosions,” said the port director, commenting on the news of the fire. Bassem what confirmed that the flames spread inside a warehouse containing barrels of industrial oil and that the fire later spread to the nearby tire depot. He added that firefighting operations are concentrated in the area of ​​the bus and taxi terminal on Avenida Charles Helou, adjacent to the port.

The Lebanese activist Imad bazzi, and like him other social media users, wrote on Twitter that the air has become unbreathable. And again, it is raining ash.