It's believed that the blast occurred when a fire ignited 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the port.
Aoun said Friday that he asked France for satellite images to see if there were warplanes or missiles in the air at the time of the blast.
Aoun told journalists that he received information weeks ago about the ammonium nitrate and “immediately ordered†military and security officials to take care of it. .
Aoun said the Lebanese government's investigation into the cause of the explosion is concentrating on 20 people.
5, 2020 shows the scene of an explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon.
A massive explosion rocked Beirut on Tuesday, flattening much of the city's port, damaging buildings across the capital and sending a giant mushroom cloud into the sky. (Photo: Hussein Malla, AP).
2 forensic police official, Dominique Abbenanti, said Friday the explosion “appears to be an accident†but that it’s too early to say for sure.
The investigation is complicated by the huge scale of the damage and “the Lebanese situation,†he said, referring to the political and economic crisis.
Left unchecked, ammonium nitrate can be contaminated by industrial elements such as fuel oil.
An explosion of ammonium nitrate releases gases, including nitrogen dioxide, which is orange or reddish in color.
“Our experience shows that we can find people alive until up to 72, 75 or 80 hours after an explosion or an earthquake, so for now we are still in time and we cling on to this hope,†said Col
Thousands of Lebanese citizens filled the streets in the days after the blast, bringing their own brooms, shovels and other materials to help clean up the streets of Beirut, according to Lebanese activist Ralph Baydou.Â
A woman gave birth to a boy in near darkness at a hospital in Beirut, Lebanon hospital moments after an explosion rocked the city on August 4
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