Negligence probed in deadly Beirut blast amid public anger
BEIRUT
(AP) — Investigators probing the deadly blast that ripped across Beirut
focused Wednesday on possible negligence in the storage of tons of a
highly explosive fertilizer in a waterfront warehouse, while the
government ordered the house arrest of several port officials.
International
aid flights began to arrive as Lebanon’s leaders struggled to deal with
the widespread damage and shocking aftermath of Tuesday’s blast, which
the Health Ministry said killed 135 people and injured about 5,000
others.
Public anger mounted against the ruling elite that is
being blamed for the chronic mismanagement and carelessness that led to
the disaster. The Port of Beirut and customs office is notorious for
being one of the most corrupt and lucrative institutions in Lebanon
where various factions and politicians, including Hezbollah, hold sway.
The
investigation is focusing on how 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a
highly explosive chemical used in fertilizers, came to be stored at the
facility for six years, and why nothing was done about it.
Losses
from the blast are estimated to be between $10 billion to $15 billion,
Beirut Gov. Marwan Abboud told Saudi-owned TV station Al-Hadath, adding
that nearly 300,000 people are homeless.
“Beirut as we know it is
gone and people won’t be able to rebuild their lives,” said Amy, a woman
who swept glass from a small alley beside by a tall building that
served as a showroom for a famous Lebanese designer and was a
neighborhood landmark.
“This is hell. How are they (people) going
to survive. What are they going to do?” she said, blaming officials for
lack of responsibility and “stupidity.”
Hospitals were overwhelmed
by the injured. One that was damaged in the blast had to evacuate all
its patients to a nearby field for treatment.
It was the worst
single explosion to strike Lebanon, a country whose history is filled
with destruction — from a 1975-1990 civil war, conflicts with Israel and
periodic terrorist attacks.
Lebanon already was on the brink of
collapse amid a severe economic crisis and the coronavirus pandemic.
Many have lost their jobs and seen their savings evaporate because of a
currency crisis. Food security is a worry, since the country imports
nearly all its vital goods and its main port is now devastated. The
government is strapped for cash.
A senior U.S. Defense Department
official and member of the U.S. intelligence community said there were
no indications the explosion was the result of an attack by either a
nation state or proxy forces. Both spoke to The Associated Press on
condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss
intelligence briefings publicly. They told AP that at the moment, the
explosion seems to have been caused by improper storage of explosives.
Fueling
speculation that negligence was to blame for the accident, an official
letter circulating online showed the head of the customs department had
warned repeatedly over the years that the huge stockpile of ammonium
nitrate stored in the port was a danger and had asked judicial officials
for a ruling on a way to remove it.
Ammonium nitrate is a
component of fertilizer that is potentially explosive. The 2,750-ton
cargo had been stored at the port since it was confiscated from a ship
in 2013, and on Tuesday it is believed to have detonated after a fire
broke out nearby.
The 2017 letter from the customs chief to a
judge could not be immediately confirmed, but state prosecutor Ghassan
Oueidat ordered security agencies to start an immediate investigation
into all letters related to the materials stored at the port, as well as
lists of those in charge of maintenance, storage and protection of the
hangar.
In the letter, the customs chief warned of the “dangers
if the materials remain where they are, affecting the safety of (port)
employees” and asked the judge for guidance. He said five similar
letters were sent in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The letter proposes the
material be exported or sold to a Lebanese explosives company. It is not
known if there was a response.
Badri Daher, the head of the
customs department, confirmed to the local LBC TV channel that there
were five or six such letters to the judiciary. He said his predecessor
also pleaded with the judiciary to issue orders to export the explosive
materials “because of how dangerous they are” to the port and staff
there.
Daher said it was his duty to “alert” authorities of the
dangers but that is the most he could do. “I am not a technical expert.”
President Michael Aoun vowed before a Cabinet meeting that the
investigation would be transparent and that those responsible will be
punished.
“There are no words to describe the catastrophe that hit Beirut last night,” he said.
After
the meeting, the Cabinet ordered an unspecified number of Beirut port
officials put under house arrest pending the investigation.
The
government also said public schools and some hotels will be opened for
the homeless and promised unspecified compensation for the victims.
With
the Port of Beirut destroyed, the government said imports and exports
will be secured elsewhere, mostly in the northern city of Tripoli and
the southern port of Tyre.
There were signs that public anger went
beyond port officials to Lebanon’s long-entrenched ruling class.
Political factions have divided control of public institutions,
including the port, using them to benefit their supporters, with little
actual development. That has translated into crumbling infrastructure,
power outages and poor services.
“May the Virgin Mary destroy them
and their families,” Joseph Qiyameh, a 79-year-old grocery store owner,
said of the leadership. The blast damaged his store, his wife was
hospitalized with injuries she suffered at home next door, and his arm
was hurt. He doesn’t have the money to fix his business, with his
savings locked up in banks by controls imposed during the financial
crisis.
The Hospital of the Sisters of Rosaries was knocked out of
service by the blast, with one of the nuns killed and three others
badly injured.
“In a moment, there was no longer a hospital. It is all gone,” said one of the nuns, who suffered a leg injury.
Residents
confronted a scene of utter devastation Wednesday, with smoke still
rising from the port. The blast tore out a crater 200 meters (yards)
across that filled with seawater, as if the Mediterranean had taken a
bite out of the port and swallowed buildings with it. Much of downtown
was littered with damaged cars and debris.
Drone footage shot by
the AP showed the blast tore open a silo structure, dumping its contents
into the debris. Estimates suggested about 85% of the country’s grain
was stored there.
Economy and Trade Minister Raoul Nehme said all
the wheat was contaminated and unusable. But he insisted Lebanon had
enough for its immediate needs and would import more, according to the
state news agency.
Two planeloads of French rescue workers and aid
headed to Beirut and French President Emmanuel Macron was to arrive
Thursday to offer support for the former protectorate. The countries
retain close political and economic ties.
Several planes of medical equipment and supplies from Greece, Kuwait, Qatar and elsewhere arrived at Beirut’s international airport. Turkey sent search-and-rescue teams, humanitarian aid, medical equipment and a field hospital, its Foreign Ministry said. The EU planned to send firefighters with vehicles, dogs and equipment designed to find people trapped in debris.
Associated Press writers Sarah El Deeb and Hassan Ammar in Beirut, Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Joseph Krauss in Jerusalem contributed.