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New Delhi: A major fire broke out in the Beirut Port’s duty-free zone on Thursday, one month after a deadly blast at the port killed nearly 200 people, injured 6,500 others, and left tens of thousands of people homeless. According to the social media message posted by the Lebanese Army Command, ‘a store of oil and tires at the port’s Duty-Free zone caught fire. The massive flames and smoke were seen covering the sky in the area.’
As per the latest reports, fire extinguishing operations were underway, and army helicopters were also seen taking part in the process. Vehicles belonging to the Beirut Fire Brigade and the Civil Defense had arrived at the port and were working on dousing the fire. Teams from the Red Cross were also seen at the scene of the inferno.
Videos circulating on social media show roaring orange flames engulfing one of the port’s warehouses as workers flee the scene. Firefighters were also filmed arriving at the port and are reportedly tackling the blaze. As per the Lebanese army, the warehouse in question contained engine oil and car tires, and that military helicopters had been deployed to help fight the fire.
The Governor of Beirut Marwan Abboud has called for residents to stay off the roads around the port to allow emergency services to get to the scene.
The cause of the fire, which is reminiscent of the blaze which broke out minutes before the August 4, explosion, was not immediately clear. Last month’s blast, which happened when 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate ignited and exploded, killed nearly 200 and injured thousands more.
The new blaze comes a week after the Lebanese army announced it had unearthed 4.35 tonnes of ammonium nitrate near the entrance to the port. Meanwhile, in August, French and Italian chemical experts discovered at least 20 containers holding dangerous and potentially explosive substances in Beirut, at least one of which was leaking.
