BEIRUT, Sept 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A huge fire raged in Beirut port on Thursday, sparking alarm among Lebanese still reeling from a devastating dockside explosion that disfigured the capital last month.
Thick black columns of smoke rose into the sky, as the army said the blaze had engulfed a warehouse storing oil and tyres.
It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze.
“Operations have begun to extinguish the fire and army helicopters will take part,” the military said in a statement on Twitter.
Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud told residents to stay clear of the port area “for their safety” and to allow firefighters to perform their duties unhindered, state news agency NNA reported.
Brigadier General Raymond Khattar, director general of the Lebanese Civil Defense, denied the fire was spreading, telling NNA that the blaze had been “completely surrounded” by Civil Defense and fire brigade personnel working on the ground. Lebanese Air Force helicopters were also dousing the flames from above.
Khattar added that the materials at the site, which include rubber and oils, were highly flammable and required “exceptional handling” and “time” to be completely extinguished.
The Civil Defense has appealed to owners of private water tanks in the area to help with the effort.
As firefighters worked to bring the blaze under control, all roads leading to the port were blocked off and traffic diverted to alternative routes, according to NNA.
The Minister of Justice in Lebanon’s caretaker government, Marie Claude Najm, called on the public prosecutor to conduct an “immediate and in-depth investigation” into the fire, state news agency NNA reported.
Meanwhile, Lebanese MP Rola Tabsh has called for an international investigation into the Beirut port fires “now and not tomorrow.”
“Beirut has suffocated from the smoke of your oppression. Beirut has burned from the fires of your corruption and arrogance,” she tweeted. “An international investigation now and not tomorrow.”
Social media users posted video footage, which sparked alarm among Beirut residents only just recovering from the country’s deadliest peace-time disaster.
“Insane fire at the port, causing a panic all across Beirut. We just can’t catch a break,” Human Rights Watch researcher Aya Majzoub wrote on Twitter.
The Aug 4 explosion of hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser at the port killed more than 190 people, wounded thousands and ravaged large parts of the capital.
The blast sparked widespread outrage after it emerged authorities had been aware of the presence of the huge stockpile, and prompted the government to resign.
Human rights researcher Omar Nashabe tweeted: “Where are we living? This is the scene of the crime a month ago! Where is the judiciary? Where is the state? Where is responsibility?”
The port blast piled new misery on Lebanese already battling the coronavirus pandemic and the country’s worst economic crisis in decades, which has seen poverty rates double to more than half the population. — NNN-AGENCIES
