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Rescuers in Beirut have detected possible signs of life in the rubble of a building that collapsed after a large explosion a month ago, a rescue worker said.
A team with a rescue dog detected movement under a destroyed building in the Gemmayze area of the Lebanese capital, one of the hardest hit by the blast, a local news agency said.
“These (breathing and pulse signs) along with the temperature sensor mean there is a possibility of life,” rescuer Eddy Bitar told reporters at the scene.
Dressed in high-visibility jackets, rescuers climbed over the building that collapsed in the blast after nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse detonated on August 4.
Approximately 190 people died and 6,000 more were injured, and several people were found under the rubble in the days after.
Searchlights were being installed on the Gemmayze Building as the sun set, while a rescuer led a sniffer dog to the mound of shattered masonry.
Bitar said a civil defense unit had been called in to help with the additional equipment needed to carry out the search.
Any search and rescue effort, if it became clear that someone was still alive, would likely take hours, local media said.
While rescuers were digging, the Lebanese army said it had discovered 4.35 tons of ammonium nitrate stored near the port of Beirut.
The areas around the port were destroyed.
Army experts were called in for an inspection of the dangerous chemical in four containers.
A statement said they were “dealing with the material,” an apparent reference to it being destroyed.
There were no details on the origin of the chemicals or their owner.
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Days after the August 4 explosion, which left nearly 300,000 people homeless, French and Italian chemical experts identified more than 20 containers carrying dangerous chemicals at the port.
Those containers were moved and safely stored in locations around the port, the army said.
French experts and the FBI have been assisting with the investigation of the blast, at the request of the Lebanese authorities.
So far, 25 people have been arrested in the blast, most of them port and customs officials.
