As Beirut’s residents seek to rebuild their lives, the country’s President says investigations into the biggest blast in the city’s history will examine whether it was caused by a bomb or other external interference.
Rescuers are still sifting through rubble in a race to find anyone still alive after a warehouse full of thousands of tonnes of ammonium nitrate blew up on Tuesday, killing 154 people, injuring 5,000, smashing a swathe of the Mediterranean city and sending a seismic shockwave around the region.
“The cause has not been determined yet. There is a possibility of external interference through a rocket or bomb or other act,” President Michel Aoun said.
Mr Aoun said the investigation would also consider if the blast was due to negligence or an accident.
Twenty people had been detained so far, he added.
In the explosion’s aftermath, US President Donald Trump said the US military had told him they thought the explosion was caused by “a bomb of some kind”.
But CNN later quoted Pentagon officials as saying there was no evidence of any attack.
A day later, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said “most believed” the blast was the product of some kind of accident.
Israel, which has fought several wars with Lebanon, has denied any role in the explosion.❐
