Beirut holds its breath waiting for a "miracle" from under the rubble
Friday rescue workers are busy searching for a potential survivor under the rubble of a destroyed building in Beirut, a stricken city that is holding its breath waiting for a "miracle", a month after a terrible explosion plunged the Lebanese into a shock from which they have not yet recovered.
The news that a person could be found alive on the afflicted Mar Mikhael Street has revived the hopes of many in a country still under the burden of an unprecedented catastrophe that left 191 people dead and caused more than 6,500 injuries and displaced about 300,000 from their homes.
Official estimates indicate that at least seven remain missing.
On Friday morning, civil defense personnel and rescue workers continued their searches under the rubble of a destroyed building on Mar Mikhael Street in Beirut, the day after a Chilean rescue team, which had recently arrived in Beirut, through an advanced thermal scanning device, detected a "heartbeat", according to what local officials said, in the place where A trained dog accompanied him.
For hours, workers lifted stones and rubble with their hands or with hand tools, according to an AFP photographer.
And they managed to make a hole to the lower floors before a device was brought in to monitor the breath and movement.
So far, no signs of life have been found under the rubble.
"So far, unfortunately, there are no traces of any victim or corpse" in two rooms inside the building that were erased, French civil engineer Emmanuel Duran, who is participating with his team of university students, in the rescue efforts by conducting a three-dimensional survey, told France Press.
Nicholas Saadeh, who works for an organization that coordinates the Chilean research team and civil defense, told France Press in the morning that “after removing the large rubble, we conducted a new survey to monitor the heartbeat or breath, and the survey showed a low rate .. seven per minute.” After it had previously been recorded The rate ranged between "16 to 18" per minute.
According to residents of the neighborhood, the upper floors of the building, which had a bar on its ground floor, turned into a pile of rubble as a result of the August 4 blast, which made searches require high skills and accuracy.
Although it is almost impossible to have life a month after the explosion, many cling to little hope.
"I didn't know we needed a miracle of this magnitude," filmmaker Selim Mourad said emotionally.
Please, Lord, give Beirut the miracle it deserves. ”
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