Lebanese Interior Minister Says Was Unaware About Ammonium Nitrate Stored In Beirut Port

DOHA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th August, 2020) Lebanese Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi said on Wednesday that he had not received any reports from relevant authorities about a massive storage of ammonium nitrate, an explosive substance, in the Beirut port.

Earlier in the day, Lebanon's Customs Service Director General Badri Daher said that starting from June 2014, his agency nine times asked the court to determine the fate of the large amount of ammonium nitrate that had been stored in the port of Beirut, but to no avail. According to the official, the last request was sent in December 2017, but the judge did not respond to any of them.

"I had not received any reports and I was not aware about the Beirut port case. I do not close my eyes to any case," Fahmi told reporters.

The massive explosion hit the Beirut port on Tuesday evening, leaving at least 135 people killed, about 5,000 others injured and half of the city's buildings damaged. Dozens of people are still unaccounted for.

The Lebanese authorities say that the blast was likely linked to improper storage of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate in the port, which was seized from an Africa-bound ship in 2014 after the latter docked at the port due to malfunction.