The investigation is only just beginning in Lebanon, but the highest authorities of the country are already pointing the finger at the probable origin of the gigantic explosions which shook Beirut on Tuesday, August 4. In the viewfinder of Prime Minister Hassan Diab, the presence of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in the port in a dilapidated hangar in the grip of a fire a few minutes before the blasts.
Abbas Ibrahim, the director general of the General Security, the equivalent of the Minister of the Interior, looks in the same direction and establishes a link with these chemical goods "confiscated for years".
VIDEO. Explosions in Beirut: ammonium nitrate at the heart of the "triangle of fire"
According to corroborating sources, this considerable quantity of ammonium nitrate - chemical substance at the origin of the AZF disaster in France in 2011 - could come from a Russian cargo ship flying the Moldovan flag and forced to dock in Beirut in 2013 due to technical issues. The ship would have finally been abandoned by its owner and its very dangerous goods seized by the port authorities of Beirut.
"This material should not have stayed there"
According to the Qatari channel Al-Jazeera, the Lebanese customs office would then have sought justice five times, between 2014 and 2017, to rule on the fate of this chemical stock. Without ever getting an answer. The current director of the customs office calls into question the members of the port management. “They are responsible and I can tell you that this material should not have stayed there,” he said in an interview with Al-Jazeera.
After complaints related to the foul odors escaping from the hangar, an investigation was conducted in 2019 by the Lebanese state security. A report would have concluded that it was necessary to move these hazardous materials and carry out repair work on the hangar.
On the French side, an investigation was opened for unintentional injuries by the Paris prosecutor's office following the census on Wednesday of at least 21 French people among the injured. The investigations were entrusted to the gendarmerie.
