At least 40 French people were injured in the double explosion at the port of Beirut, according to a new provisional report communicated Thursday, August 6 by the Paris prosecutor's office, which widened its investigation after the death of a French national.
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A previous government count reported 24 French wounded, three of them in serious condition. The Minister of Culture, Roselyne Bachelot, also announced that a French architect, Jean-Marc Bonfils, had died in the explosions which devastated the Lebanese capital on Tuesday.
After the confirmation of this death, the investigation opened Wednesday for " unintentional injuries " by the collective accidents pole of the Paris prosecutor's office was extended to facts of " involuntary homicides ", AFP learned Thursday from the public prosecutor. This pole was able to take action under its jurisdiction in matters committed abroad when French people are among the victims.
The latest count from the Lebanese Ministry of Health on Thursday recorded at least 137 dead and 5,000 injured, while dozens of people remain missing. The explosions, which authorities say were caused by a fire in a warehouse housing a huge amount of ammonium nitrate at the port of Beirut, also left some 300,000 homeless.