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Beirut explosion: 16 port workers arrested

AP
A helicopter drops water on smoldering buildings in the city's port, destroyed by an explosion a day earlier in Beirut, Lebanon.
Camera IconA helicopter drops water on smoldering buildings in the city's port, destroyed by an explosion a day earlier in Beirut, Lebanon. Credit: Getty Images/Getty Images

Lebanon’s state-run news agency says 16 employees at Beirut’s port have been detained over this weeks explosion that killed more than 100 people and wounded thousands.

The National News Agency quoted Government Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Fadi Akiki as saying on Thursday that 18 people have been questioned so far. All of them are port and customs officials, as well as individuals in charge of maintenance at the hangar where 2,750 tons of explosive materials have been stored for years.

Akiki said that the investigation began shortly after the blast occurred on Tuesday evening and will continue to cover all suspects in the explosion.

An injured man rests in a chair after a large explosion in Beirut, Lebanon.
Camera IconAn injured man rests in a chair after a large explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. Credit: Daniel Carde/Getty Images

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For many Lebanese, Tuesday’s blast was the last straw after years of corruption and mismanagement by a political elite that has ruled for decades.

Lebanon’s various factions, including the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, have ruled the country since the 1975-1990 civil war. Almost all the country’s public institutions are divided up among the factions, which use them as patronage generators for themselves and their supporters.

Little actual development is put into the institutions and anything that requires joint action often becomes mired in bickering. As a result, even basic services like electricity and trash collection are a shambles.

: Members of the army hold back demonstrators, expressing anger with the government negligence that allegedly contributed to the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon.
Camera Icon: Members of the army hold back demonstrators, expressing anger with the government negligence that allegedly contributed to the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. Credit: Getty Images/Getty Images

Losses from the blast were estimated by Beirut Gov. Marwan Abboud to be between $10 billion to $15 billion. He also said nearly 300,000 people are homeless.

The disaster may also have accelerated the country’s coronavirus outbreak, as thousands flooded into hospitals. Tens of thousands have had to move in with relatives and friends after their homes were damaged, further raising the risks of exposure. Lebanon on Thursday reported 255 new infections, bringing the total to 5,672 cases, including 70 deaths.

The head of Lebanon’s customs department, Badri Daher, told the AP that State Security, one of Lebanon’s main security agencies, had been conducting an investigation the past year into the stockpile of ammonium nitrate that had been stored at the port since it was confiscated from an impounded ship in 2013.

Emergency workers search a collapsed building on August 6, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon.
Camera IconEmergency workers search a collapsed building on August 6, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. Credit: Getty Images/Getty Images

During the investigation, the agency sent reports to the Cabinet, state prosecutor and other state institutions about the danger of the material.

Security officials were not immediately available for comment. But if correct, it would be the first evidence that top level officials were notified of the presence of the large amount of ammonium nitrate - a component of fertilizers that is highly explosive - kept so close to residential areas.

Daher confirmed that he had sent a letter in 2017 to a judge warning of the danger and asking for guidance on what to do with the material. He said he and his predecessor sent six letters but never got a response.

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