Beirut, Lebanon — Lebanon is once again suffering as a major fire in a warehouse in the port of its capital, Beirut. The fire comes several weeks after the catastrophic explosion that occurred in the same port, which left about 191 dead, more than 6,500 injured and 300,000 homeless.
Here’s video footage of today’s fire in the capital can be found here.
Various military sources have assured that the fire was caused by a warehouse in which tires and oil are kept. The Lebanese Army and firefighters are helping to extinguish the fire using helicopters. They called on the population to withdraw from the area and neighboring neighborhoods for fear of explosions.
“I am forced to get them out of Beirut from the smoke and the fire that is happening at the port again,” explained one civilian, Majed Hassanein.
In the free zone, tires and oils had been stocked by an export company. This was stated by the acting director of the port, Nassem Al Kaissi, who replaced the previous one who is detained, to the Lebanese chain LBCI.
“The fire started in the oil drums before spreading to the tires,” he said. “Either because of the heat or because of an error, it is too early to tell,” shared Al Kaissi.
The men of the Civil Defense and the army moved to the port. Military helicopters have been fighting the flames since early this morning. Workers at the port fled the scene on foot or in cars as the fire began to spread. One person, a secretary-general, who suffered suffocation, was treated by the Lebanese Red Cross, according to George Kettané.
