At least one hundred people have died, and more than 4,000 injured, after the violent explosions in the port of Beirut. In devastated streets, rescuers are busy looking for survivors. "There is a good chance of still having missing alive", underlines Michaël Bernier, lieutenant-colonel spokesperson of the civil security and expert in explosives, on Europe 1. 

INTERVIEW

In the aftermath of the two explosions in the port of Beirut which left at least 100 dead and more than 4,000 injured, the emergency services are still busy looking for survivors in the chaos of the rubble. To help local teams, France is sending three planes to the Lebanese capital on Wednesday, with medical equipment and security teams on board. There is urgency, because finding survivors is still possible, explains Michaël Bernier, lieutenant-colonel spokesperson for civil security and explosives expert, on Europe 1. 

>> READ ALSO -  Lebanon: what we know about the two explosions that shook Beirut

"Even if the passing hours reduce the chances of survival, we are a bit in an earthquake configuration. That is to say that there have been building collapses but when a building collapses it does "is not often completely flat. Niches are formed inside, pockets of survival, where people can be stuck," he explains. "There is a good chance that there will still be missing people alive, even if the passing hours complicate the situation."

>> Find all Raphaëlle Duchemin's shows in replay and podcast here

Experts in "rescue-clearing" sent to reinforce

In the emergency humanitarian aid plane which takes off this Thursday from Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport in the direction of Beirut, 55 soldiers from civil security instruction and intervention units. “Fifty are specialized in rescue-clearing, that is to say going to find and extract victims of rubble. And then five other soldiers are with them, in support, to make assessments on the technological or chemical risks that could intervene, to secure the work [of the rescuers, editor's note] but also to make observations ", specifies Michaël Bernier. 

>> READ ALSO -  Explosions in Lebanon: "We slept on an atomic bomb without even knowing it"

There, the risk of collapse is still very high, says the expert, with complications that may be linked to the chemicals stored in the port. It is also necessary to determine the range of the shock wave, which can cause injuries within a radius of several kilometers. According to the authorities, some 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, stored "without precautionary measures" in the port of Beirut, are the source of the power of the explosions, the worst experienced by the Lebanese capital despite its troubled history. .