BEIRUT (LEBANON) – A large fire erupted at Beirut port on Thursday, leading to a huge smoke over the Lebanese capital. This has come just weeks after a massive blast ravaged the port.
The blaze set off in the shattered duty free zone of the port, prompting some residents to escape from the city.
53-year-old Andre Muarbes said, “For sure we were scared, it’s only been a month since the explosion that destroyed Beirut. We saw the same thing happening again.”
The army said a store of oil and tyres had caught fire. However, the reason was not immediately clear. Television footage showed an army helicopter spilling water on the fire.
The head of civil defence told Lebanon’s AlJadeed television it was not certain what materials caught fire while at the same time asking the public to stay calm.
There were no immediate reports of injuries but the blaze strained nerves already on edge in a nation grappling with a deep economic crisis that has posed the biggest threat to Lebanon’s stability since its 1975-1990 civil war.
Majed Hassanein, 49, was on his way out of the city with his wife and two children by car. “I am forced to get them out of Beirut from the smoke and the fire that is happening at the port again.”
His son, he said, was still under trauma about the port blast.
The head of Lebanon’s Red Cross, George Kettaneh, said they need not fear another blast as a result of Thursday’s fire. There were no injuries, however, a few of them suffered from lack of breath.
The public prosecutor ordered an immediate investigation regarding the incident. The minds of many Lebanese are plagued by the thought that they have not been informed about any initial findings from the inquiry into the port blast.
Carmen Geha, an activist and associate professor at the American University of Beirut, said the fire reinforced that there was mismanagement.
“It’s a gross crime, gross negligence and gross arrogance. You can’t trust them to manage anything.”