Issued on: 03/09/2020 – 19:11
Lebanon's army said on Thursday it had found 4.35 tonnes of ammonium nitrate near the entrance to the Beirut port, the site of a huge blast last month caused by a large stockpile of the same highly explosive chemical.
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Lebanese army engineers were "dealing with it", according to an army statement carried by the state news agency NNA. The statement said the chemicals were found outside entrance nine to the port.
Army experts were called in for an inspection and found 4.35 tonnes of the dangerous chemical in four containers stored near the port, according to the military. There were no details on the origin of the chemicals or their owner.
The revelation came nearly a month after a catastrophic explosion on August 4 ripped through the city, killing around 190 people. The authorities said it was caused by about 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been stacked in unsafe conditions in a port warehouse for years.
The blast smashed entire neighbourhoods, gutting buildings and injuring 6,000 people.
International experts, investigators helping Lebanon
Days after the August 4 blast, French and Italian chemical experts working amid the remains of the port identified more than 20 containers carrying dangerous chemicals. The army later said that these containers were moved and stored safely in locations away from the port.
French experts as well as the FBI are aiding the investigation into the blast, at the request of Lebanese authorities. Their findings have yet to be released.
So far, authorities have detained 25 people over last month's explosion, most of them port and customs officials.
Lebanon's government quit amid public anger in a nation already brought to its knees by an economic crisis. The public remains anxious that more hazardous materials are being stored badly, putting them at risk.
Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron visited Lebanon for the second time since the deadly Beirut port blast. Read More – Source
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