Lebanon president: Beirut explosion either due to negligence or missile, bomb

Lebanese President Michel Aoun says there are two possible causes of Tuesday’s explosion that killed nearly 150 people – either negligence or “external intervention” by a missile or a bomb.

The blast is believed to have been caused by a fire that ignited 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been stored at the port since 2013. The cause of the initial fire is unknown.

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. This differs from the main narrative of recent days, which focused on port officials. 

Aoun told journalists that he received information on July 20 about the stored material and “immediately ordered” military and security officials to do what was necessary. He did not elaborate. He said several governments in charge since 2013 received warnings about the material.

He said the investigation is concentrating on 20 persons. He rejected an international investigation into the blast, saying that it will make us “lose the truth.”

The explosion had the force of at least 500 tons of TNT, according to a U.S. government source who was not authorized to speak publicly. The estimate was based on the widespread destruction, said the source, who has experience with military explosives.

The blast caused carnage over a 6-mile radius and was felt more than 100 miles away.

has been linked to past industrial accidents, including explosions at a fertilizer plant in Texas in 2013, a Chinese port in 2015 and many others. 

Storage is critical. Left unchecked, ammonium nitrate can be contaminated by industrial elements such as fuel oil. The chemical can also decompose on its own, generating heat.

The result is an explosion that releases gases, including nitrogen dioxide, which is orange or reddish in color.

Beirut disaster videos show a gray cloud rising from the port, in what appears to be a large industrial fire. A building explodes, creating an orange-reddish cloud, followed closely by a white mushroom cloud as a shock wave hits.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump called it a “terrible attack” based on the suspicions of U.S. generals he did not name. However, Defense Secretary Mark Esper later said it was likely an accident.

Rescuers pulled more bodies from the wreckage Friday.

The explosion also devastated nearby residential neighborhoods, blowing out windows and wrecking facades for miles around.

“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. Vincent Tissier, head of the French rescue team.

A team of 55 French rescuers that began work Thursday has found four bodies, according Vincent, of the French Civil Protection. Lebanese firefighters are also working at the demolished port, where bulldozers and excavators churned through the rubble.

An initial government assessment said 300,000 people – more than 12% of Beirut’s population – had to leave homes damaged or left uninhabitable by the explosion. Many of them have since returned, or are staying in second homes or with friends and relatives. Officials have estimated losses at $10 billion to $15 billion.

Damaged hospitals, already strained by the coronavirus pandemic, are still struggling to deal with the wounded.

The investigation is focusing on port and customs officials, but many Lebanese say it points to much greater problem. For decades, Lebanon has been dominated by the same political elites – many of them former warlords and militia commanders from the 1975-1990 civil war. Thirty years after the civil war ended, power outages are still frequent, trash often goes uncollected and tap water is largely undrinkable.

Even before the blast, the country was mired in a severe economic crisis that was also widely blamed on the political class. Unemployment was soaring, and a collapse of the local currency wiped out many people’s savings, That will make the task of rebuilding after the blast even more daunting.

Macron said France would lead international efforts to provide aid but would not give “blank checks to a system that no longer has the trust of its people.”

France, which has close ties to its former colony, has also sent a team of 22 investigators to help probe the cause of the blast. Based on information from Lebanon so far, France’s No. 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.

In an interview with The Associated Press, he predicted “the death toll will grow.”

French investigators are involved at the request of Lebanon and also because one French citizen was killed and at least 40 were injured in the blast.

French police could later question witnesses or suspects, said Eric Berot, chief of a unit involved in the investigation. For now, the French team is dividing up zones to cover with their Lebanese counterparts and will use drones to study the area.

“The zone is enormous. It’s a titanic job,” Berot said. The investigation is complicated by the huge scale of the damage and “the Lebanese situation,” he said, referring to the political and economic crisis.

The U.N. human rights office called for an independent investigation, insisting “victims’ calls for accountability must be heard.”

Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, cited the need for the international community to help Lebanon with both a quick response and sustained engagement.

He said Lebanon is facing the “triple tragedy of the socio-economic crisis, COVID-19 and the ammonium nitrate explosion.” Colville urged Lebanese leaders to “overcome political stalemates and address the grievances of the population.”

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