Starting in June 2014, Lebanon's Customs Service nine times asked the court to determine the fate of a large amount of ammonium nitrate that had been stored in the port of Beirut, but to no avail, Director General Badri Daher said on Wednesday
DOHA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th August, 2020) Starting in June 2014, Lebanon's Customs Service nine times asked the court to determine the fate of a large amount of ammonium nitrate that had been stored in the port of Beirut, but to no avail, Director General Badri Daher said on Wednesday.
The devastating explosion hit the port on Tuesday evening, leaving at least 100 people killed and over 4,000 others injured, according to the Lebanese Red Cross. Many more victims are feared to remain under the rubble, and half of the city's buildings were damaged.
"Nine times, starting from June 27, 2014, the Customs Service has appealed to an interim relief judge to determine the fate of ammonium nitrate that stored in a warehouse of the port of Beirut," Daher said, as quoted by the Lebanese media.
According to the official, the last request was sent in December 2017, but the judge did not respond to any of them.
The Customs Service, he went on, made several proposals with regard to the dangerous cargo, including reexporting ammonium nitrate or selling it to a local explosives manufacturer, as was proposed by the Lebanese army, which had discovered this cargo on a ship.
Earlier, the LBCI broadcaster reported that the Lebanese Supreme Defense Council believes that the Beirut blast was likely linked to the improper storage of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, which was seized from an Africa-bound ship in 2014 after the latter docked at the port due to malfunction.
