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The Lebanese capital saw black smoke rise into the sky. According to the army, the fire involved a warehouse where tires and motor oil were stored.
It was not immediately clear what caused the fire at the facility, which was devastated by a powerful explosion that devastated on August 4. Then nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded and a shock wave smashed many windows, doors and walls within a few kilometers.
Panicked residents rushed to warn each other about the new fire. Local television reported that companies with offices near the port had asked their employees to leave the area. Lebanese troops have blocked a major highway along the port, diverting traffic to other areas.
Another fire !!! we really can’t take this anymore #Beirut #Lebanon pic.twitter.com/9eBCm5yO4j
– Larissa Aoun (@LarissaAounSky) September 10, 2020
Crazy fire in the harbor, causing panic everywhere #Beirut. We just can’t take a break. pic.twitter.com/PtdHehPlz0
– Aya Majzoub (@Aya_Majzoub) September 10, 2020
#BREAK: Another fire breaks out in #Beiruthttps://t.co/WrYg0bC4Pv port
(Video via @LarissaAounSky) pic.twitter.com/ZdNpVuSPtr
– Arab News (@arabnews) September 10, 2020
This is scary! This is the third fire to occur after the explosion.
I’m not sure if the negligence or the evidence is being destroyed. We need updates!#Lebanon #Beirut pic.twitter.com/lYOY6hbWVd
– #PrayForBeirut (@LebaneseProblem) September 10, 2020
The August explosion in the Lebanese capital killed more than 190 people, injured around 6,500 and damaged thousands of buildings. The residents, surprised by the incident, who saw a new massive fire a month later, were scared.
Police spokesman Colonel Joseph Msalam said he had no information about what was happening at the port. He added that the facility is currently controlled by the military.
When asked to comment on reports that the fire had ignited oil and tires, he replied: “I don’t know. These may be containers. I really don’t know what’s in there.”
There was talk in Beirut on Thursday that the fire was aimed at removing remaining evidence from the blast. The port director, Bassem al Qaisi, told Voice of Lebanon radio that the fire started in a warehouse where barrels of oil were being stored and then spread to nearby tires.
“It is too early to say whether this was due to the heat or some other mistake,” al Qaissi said. He added that the black smoke was caused by burning tires.
Panic over the fire is accompanied by anxiety that more chemicals may remain in the ruins of the port. Earlier this month, the army said it had found more than four tons of ammonium nitrate in containers near the port and had “taken care of it.”
French and Italian chemical experts working in the exploited port have found more than 20 containers of dangerous chemicals. Subsequently, the army reported that these containers had been moved from the port to a safe place.
Marwan Abboud, chief of much of Beirut, and officials urged people to avoid the roads leading to the port so that firefighters can freely pass through them.
This is the second fire in the port this week. Tuesday’s fire caused panic among those around, but it was quickly extinguished.
At the end of August, French and Lebanese soldiers extracted 8,000 tons of steel and concrete equivalent to the Eiffel Tower from the port of Beirut.
Most of the effort recently has focused on cleaning up the parts of the port most affected by the August 4 blast.
“It took us four days to remove 8,000 tons of concrete and steel,” said French Lt. Paulin, who coordinates the cleanup operation at the port, which has claimed more than 180 lives.
“8,000 tons, since we arrived here five days ago. In terms of weight, it is the equivalent of the Eiffel Tower,” said an official with the French Civil Engineering Regiment.
Tonnerre, a giant French helicopter carrier that had previously arrived in Beirut, brought dozens of trucks and other heavy equipment to clean up the debris.
After a massive chemical explosion in the port of Beirut, through which entire sectors of the port were swept from the ground, a crater 43 meters deep was left, flooded by the sea.
During the explosion, areas within a ten kilometer radius of the disaster were destroyed and people were injured.
Lebanese Army Colonel Yusef Haidar said the port of Beirut, which handles about 90 percent of the country’s imports, is currently operating at nearly half its previous capacity.
“Capacity was 30 percent last week and today we are talking about 45,” he told a news conference in the port of Beirut.
A few weeks after the explosion, for which many blame the negligence of the Lebanese state, the port can still see a plethora of destroyed cars, containers and collapsed warehouses.
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