Firefighting Brigades Continue To Work At Emergency Site In Port Of Lebanon's Beirut

Firefighting Brigades Continue to Work at Emergency Site in Port of Lebanon's Beirut

Firefighting crews continue to put out small fires at the site of the recent powerful blaze in warehouses in the port of the Lebanese capital, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the scene

BEIRUT (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th September, 2020) Firefighting crews continue to put out small fires at the site of the recent powerful blaze in warehouses in the port of the Lebanese capital, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the scene.

On Thursday, a massive fire erupted in depots with oil and tires in the port's free trade zone. It took several hours to contain an incipient fire with the help of the Lebanese army's helicopters. No one was killed or injured as a result of the incident, according to the Red Cross. As of now, smoke continues to rise at the location.

"We extinguished the fire yesterday. We are now cooling hotspots to avoid the re-ignition. Nothing can explode here, but there are some elements that can break out again due to the high temperature," one of the firefighters told Sputnik.

Civil defense and firefighting teams continue to work in the area of the hangar that stored tires, air conditioners and washing machines. The neighboring warehouse, where cooking oil caught fire, has partially survived. Separate groups of rescue staff are currently trying to transfer part of the food commodities to a safe distance.

According to Fabrizio Carboni, the ICRC director for the Near and middle East, one of the depots stored 500,000 liters (132,000 gallons) of oil. The incident may disrupt the Red Cross' humanitarian operations, Carboni said.

Late on Thursday, President Michel Aoun said that the fire could have taken place because of deliberate actions, including arson. Military intelligence officers have been operating at the scene.