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The Lebanese Military Police began listening to twenty people related to the work being carried out at a warehouse for oils, tires and flammable materials within the open market in the port of Beirut on Thursday, sparking the outbreak of a major fire. which spread to two other warehouses, which contained food, power tools and merchandise. Of various kinds, according to the Beirut Director General of Port Management and Investments in charge of Al-Qaisi, to Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed.
Al-Qaisi says that we are awaiting the conclusion of the investigations and the issuance of reports from the Engineering Regiment in the Lebanese Army and the Fire Department, to find out the reason for the fire and determine the responsibilities.
A source from the Lebanese Army Command confirmed to Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that thorough investigations are being carried out to find out what happened, especially that the fire is very large and caused very significant material losses that affected the humanitarian operations of the International Committee on the Red Cross in Lebanon. He noted that the Military Police are investigating about twenty people, including workers, administrators and officials, who are functionally linked to the work of the port of Beirut and the warehouse where the first fire occurred.
The investigation also includes the official of “PCC Logistics”, a company dedicated to the shipping and transport of goods, which in a statement denied any responsibility for the outbreak of the fire in the port of Beirut, and confirmed that the goods in its warehouse are declared to the Customs Department and stored in accordance with the regulations.
The company requested that the reason for the outbreak of the fire be revealed as soon as possible, and reserves the right to claim for material damage suffered.
For his part, the head of the Parliamentary Work Committee, MP Nazih Najm, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed: “The initial reports that were raised yesterday while we were in the joint operations room relate the motive of a worker welding and cutting on a welding machine, which caused sparks to come out that led to the outbreak of the fire, knowing that no one performs this type of action inside a hangar that contains incendiary materials such as tires, oils, cosmetics and other flammable goods, not even the Ignorant does them, from here I put what happened in the criminal circle described.
Negm emphasizes that all possibilities are on the table, even if the accident was invented or not, nothing is surprising anymore, and officials must be investigated and heard, one by one, from those in charge of the state of emergency in the country, to the Director General of the Port of Beirut, the Supreme Council of Customs and the Director General. By customs and others, and who gave the extradition order without paying attention to public security conditions. He said: “As head of Public Works, I requested a complete and thorough inspection and survey of all assets in the port, to ensure that the warehouses are free of old, abandoned and incendiary materials.”
In the context, the director of operations of the Civil Defense, George Bou Moussa, told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that the fire had been controlled and that “now cooling operations are being carried out at the site, and our personnel are on high alert anticipating any development, especially since there are still spots. It is working to extinguish it, and all work is expected to be finished in the evening hours. “
Images of the port fire pic.twitter.com/4Il1uB8xYz
– Lebanese Civil Defense (@CivilDefenseLB) September 11, 2020
Today, Friday, President Michel Aoun met with the Commander of the Armed Forces, General Joseph Aoun, and several concerned officers, to hear a detailed presentation on the current situation in and around the port of Beirut, which was damaged, in addition to the aid management process and the work of the associations and the difficulties that prevent the development of the work. .
President Aoun meets with the Commander of the Armed Forces and several concerned officers to hear a detailed presentation on the current situation in and around the port of Beirut, which has been damaged, in addition to the aid management process and the work of societies and the difficulties that impede the development of work. pic.twitter.com/Mu6o2pug32
– Lebanese Presidency (@LBpresidency) September 11, 2020
After an emergency meeting held last night, Thursday, at the invitation of Aoun, the Supreme Defense Council asked the interested agencies and the Beirut Port Administration to audit and inspect the contents of the rooms and containers being they are currently in port. It should be noted that the fire that broke out was the second in less than 48 hours inside the port, and the third since the date of the explosion in the port of Beirut on August 4, but it was the largest, requiring more than seven hours to be extinguished in the difficult conditions faced by civil defense and firefighters. Helicopters from Beirut and the Lebanese Army, given the type of materials in the warehouse.
The meeting discussed the issue of goods and materials in warehouses at ports and the airport, especially dangerous ones, which must be destroyed or disposed of in accordance with current laws and regulations, in order to avoid catastrophic accidents that could occur as a consequence of their storage. President Aoun requested the formation of a committee headed by the Minister of Works, including representatives of the security services and the port company, to establish a new organization to work in the port and guarantee public safety in it.
Aoun said at the start of the Supreme Defense Council meeting that it is no longer acceptable for mistakes of any kind leading to such a fire, especially after the disaster caused by the first fire, stating that the fire may be an intentional act of sabotage or the result of technical error, ignorance or negligence. And, in all cases, the cause must be known as soon as possible and the perpetrators must be held accountable, and work today must focus on studying effective measures to ensure that what happened is not repeated.
The Lebanese National Media Agency quoted Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Adeeb as saying, on his Twitter account, this morning, Friday morning: “Yesterday’s fire in the port of Beirut cannot be justified by anyone. Accountability it is a prerequisite not to repeat such painful events. Blessed are the efforts of the fire brigade, the civil defense and the military to contain the fire and eliminate it.
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