New Beirut port fire may have been caused by ‘sabotage, technical error or negligence’, claims President Aoun

A fire which broke out in Beirut’s port yesterday may have been caused by “sabotage, technical error or negligence”, a Twitter account belonging to the Lebanese Presidency has claimed.

“In all cases, the cause must be known as soon as possible, and the perpetrators held accountable,” the tweet attributed to President Michel Aoun added.

الرئيس عون: حريق اليوم قد يكون عملاً تخريبياً مقصوداً او نتيجة خطأ تقني او جهل او إهمال، وفي كل الأحوال يجب معرفة السبب بأسرع وقت ومحاسبة المسبّبين pic.twitter.com/9UPtbLNcXn

— Lebanese Presidency (@LBpresidency) September 10, 2020

The tweet was published during a meeting of the Higher Defence Council, in which Aoun, with the current caretaker government, who were forced to step down after the 4 August explosion, discussed yesterday’s fire.

Yesterday’s blaze, which took place only five weeks after last month’s explosion, broke out in one of Beirut port’s remaining warehouses, burning a store of cooking oil and car tyres, according to the Lebanese army.

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The flames also claimed thousands of food aid packages belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as well as 0.5 million litres of oil, regional director of the humanitarian organisation Fabrizio Carboni said on Twitter.

Shocking images from the port of Beirut. The warehouse on fire is where @ICRC_lb stocks thousands food parcels and 0.5 million L oil. The extent of the damage still remains to be established. Our humanitarian operation risks to be seriously disrupted.https://t.co/S6l6IA0bdz

— Fabrizio Carboni (@FCarboniICRC) September 10, 2020

Firefighters, who lost ten colleagues in last month’s explosion, were seen onsite tackling the blaze, assisted by military helicopters carrying water buckets.

The blaze is the second in the port this week after Lebanese security services ignited debris left behind after the 4 August explosion on Wednesday.

Both fires have sparked widespread panic among Beirut residents, many of whom are still traumatised by last month’s events.

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The 4 August blast happened when 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate ignited and exploded in Beirut port’s warehouse 12. Nearly 200 people were killed and thousands more injured in the explosion, which devastated entire neighbourhoods in Beirut.

Lebanese political leaders have rushed to order an investigation into yesterday’s fire, while Prime Minister-designated Mustafa Adib stressed the need for accountability.

“No one can justify the fire at the port of Beirut yesterday. Accountability is key so that similar painful incidents do not become recurrent”, the former Ambassador to Germany said in a tweet.

“Blessed are the efforts of firefighters, civil defence and Lebanese army for containing the fire”, Adib added.

The cause of the blaze remains unclear, though some observers have advanced the theory sparks from welding machinery caused flammable materials in the vicinity to catch fire.

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