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Beirut port explosion
image copyrightReuters
Rescuers in Beirut have found no “signs of life” in the rubble of a building destroyed in the port’s massive explosion last month, dashing hopes that someone could be rescued alive.
A sensing machine detected possible signs of life Thursday, but after cleaning 95% of the debris, workers have not found the source of the reading.
About 50 volunteers, including a team from Chile, have been at the scene.
The explosion killed about 190 people and injured thousands.
Crowds gathered in the building located between the residential districts of Gemmayze and Mar Mikhael, hoping for a miracle.
What’s the latest in search?
A team of rescuers from Chile was walking through the area Wednesday night when their sniffer dog gave a signal that a person was inside.
When they returned on Thursday, the dog gave the same signal again. The specialized sensor team then detected a pulsating signal in the area.
Respiration was detected beneath the debris at a depth of 3 m (9.8 ft).
They continued to remove debris on Saturday, cleaning much of it by hand. However, they have not yet located the source of the sensor reading.
At a press conference on Saturday, Francisco Lermanta, head of the Topos Chile voluntary rescue group, said: “Technically speaking, there are no signs of life.”
He told reporters that the signs of life recorded in the past two days were the breaths of volunteers working inside the building.
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How long can the survivors survive under the rubble?
Efforts will now focus on cleaning up debris and searching for debris, he said.
“We never stop with even one percent hope,” he said. “We never stop until the job is done.”
Civil defense officer Qassem Khaters said his team would not give up.
“We will not leave the site until we have finished going through the rubble, even if it threatens the collapse of a new building,” he said.
According to Lebanese officials, seven people are still missing after the explosion.
Beirut observed a minute’s silence on Friday, marking a month since the explosion that occurred when 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate detonated.
More about the explosion in Beirut
