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Beirut – Yesterday a huge fire broke out in one of the warehouses in the port of Beirut, from which smoke rose, renewing the terror among the Lebanese, who have not yet subsided from the terrible explosion that turned Beirut into a catastrophic city .
The fire broke out, according to the Lebanese army, in a tweet, in an oil and tire warehouse in the port’s free market. It soon spread to a nearby warehouse, where imported goods were stored.
About three hours after efforts to extinguish them began, flames from the fire continued to rage heavily on warehouses that had been badly damaged by the August 4 explosion, according to AFP photographers. Citizens residing in the suburbs of Beirut were able to see large clouds of black smoke emanating from the port before covering the Beirut skyline.
The general manager of the port assigned to Basem Al-Qaisi told LBC TV that the fire broke out in a building containing drums of frying oil and tires belonging to an imported company.
The National Media Agency quoted the director general of Civil Defense, Raymond Khattar, who said that the presence of “highly flammable materials such as rubber and oils” required “an exceptional treatment of the situation.” “Such combustible materials need time to be completely extinguished,” he added, and the fire spreads to another warehouse that houses electrical appliances. The Director of Civil Defense Operations, George Abu Musa, said that “existing assets, the quantity and quality of which impede” the ability to quickly extinguish the fire.
“We were working and suddenly they started yelling, get out of the company,” said one of the workers at the warehouse where the fire broke out, adding that “welding work was being carried out … and the fire broke out, we don’t know what He passed”.
“We dropped everything and started running, remembering the explosion. I no longer know whether to contact my family or my brothers who work in the port ”.
The civil defense teams and the fire brigade work with the participation of army helicopters to put out the fire, while the security forces prevented the passage of vehicles on the road adjacent to the port.
Beirut continues to heal its wounds following the massive explosion in the port of Beirut on August 4, killing more than 190 people and injuring more than 6,500, in addition to the displacement of some 300,000 people whose homes were destroyed, damaged or cracked.
The fire caused panic in Beirut and on social media.
“A crazy fire in the port is causing panic throughout Beirut,” wrote Aya Majzoub, a researcher at Human Rights Watch. “We cannot rest.”
“Today was my first day at the office in Mar Mikhael after it was completely repaired,” said Hala, who had resumed her job yesterday in the Mar Mikhael neighborhood, adjacent to the port. As I sat, I looked out the window to my right to see huge black smoke. My body began to shake uncontrollably and tears filled my eyes. “
“Damn them for our endless trauma,” he added.
The President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, assigned the discriminatory attorney general, Ghassan Oweidat, and the security services to carry out the necessary investigations into the matter.
This is the second fire since Tuesday at the port, and the army command said at the time that the first fire was in the mixed fires with debris, scraps of wood and tires in poor condition.
The outbreak of the fire yesterday raised suspicions among politicians and human rights defenders, who wondered why it broke out at a “crime scene.”
Amnesty International researcher Diala Haidar Taghreed repeated the army’s statement and asked: “It would be nice if you could tell us the cause of the fire in a destroyed port that is under your control.”
Omar Nashaba, a researcher specializing in forensic sciences and human rights, tweeted: “Where do we live? This is a crime scene that happened a month ago! Where is the judiciary? Where is the country Where is the responsibility? “
Kataeb Party Chief Sami Gemayel, who resigned from Parliament after the 4 August explosion, asked: “How can a new fire break out despite the presence of all the security and judicial agencies at the scene of the Beirut port crime? “
He added: “What is happening there is doubtful. We call on the United Nations to put its hand in the investigations, especially after the fire today.”
Authorities are investigating the explosion in the port, which they attributed to 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, which had been stored for more than six years in Hall 12 without due precautions.
The explosion had sparked outrage, especially after various reports and sources confirmed that the authorities, including the security services, presidents and former and current officials, were aware of the dangers of storing this material in the port. So far, the Judiciary has detained 25 people, including senior port officials and their security. FULL BOARD)
