‘Regular’ operations restored to Beirut port
French and Lebanese military cleared the area not under investigation. The weight of the debris - steel and concrete - is equal to that of the "Eiffel Tower". Reconstruction within the city slowly underway.
Beirut (AsiaNews) - Beirut port, destroyed by the explosions of 4 August, has resumed functioning at full capacity, "100%" and "on a regular basis" declared Director General Bassem el-Kaissi, after a meeting with French soldiers who are helping the Lebanese army to clear the port of rubble and to rebuild some infrastructure.
Of course, only those areas not involved in the official investigation into the causes of the explosions are being cleaned and restored. Despite having promised to deliver results within five days, there is still a lot of silence on the investigation.
Bassem el-Kaissi replaced Hassan Koraytem, under arrest along with 15 other people, accused of neglect for having kept hazardous materials in unprotected storage for years. The explosions are attributed to the detonation of almost 3 thousand tons of ammonium nitrate.
According to a French soldier, at the site of the explosion, the French and Lebanese military took away quantities of steel and concrete debris equivalent to the weight of the Eiffel Tower.
El-Kaissi also stated that ship owners have already established the extent of the damage suffered, to apply to insurance companies. Even the merchandise recovered from under the rubble is being made available to their respective owners to assess the damage.
Meanwhile, the reconstruction of buildings and shops within the city is taking place very slowly, arousing complaints and criticisms from the population. The explosions in the port of Beirut left 200 dead, at least 6 thousand injured and produced 300 thousand homeless.
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03/06/2004
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