The huge fire in the port of Beirut has been extinguished

The fire in the port of Beirut broke out on Thursday afternoon.

-

Lebanese firefighters put out the last flames of the massive blaze the day before at the port of Beirut on Friday, which destroyed crucial humanitarian aid and rekindled the painful trauma of a population in shock after the devastating explosion in early August.

In the middle of the warehouses blown up by the gigantic explosion of August 4 but still filled with cargo, firefighters sometimes perched on an lifting platform projected water below to prevent a resumption of the fire.

The ground was flooded with pools of water, while thick white smoke hung heavily over this landscape of ruins.

The fire started Thursday in a warehouse used in particular by the International Red Cross to store thousands of food packages and half a million liters of oil.

The food included pasta, sugar, tea, lentils and chickpeas, according to a statement from the organization.

As a result, "the explosion and fire will undoubtedly have an impact on the ICRC's humanitarian aid, whether in Lebanon or neighboring Syria", warned the Red Cross.

"The toxic Republic"

The inhabitants had discovered terrified Thursday an opaque black smoke visible from several districts, caused by the fire in this warehouse.

"Repairs" were being carried out at the site with an electric saw, and "sparks" caused the fire, according to "preliminary information" from the government.

"The toxic Republic", headlined Friday the French

language daily

.

The incident was a reminder of the fateful day of August 4, when a huge amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the port exploded.

This tragedy, the tragedy too many for a population already brought to its knees by a serious economic crisis, has left more than 190 dead and 6,500 injured, devastating entire neighborhoods.

In a country facing an unprecedented depreciation of its currency and widespread job cuts, the explosion has aroused the anger of the population, castigating a ruling class almost unchanged for decades and held responsible for this disaster through its corruption and his incompetence.

"The fire (Thursday) can in no way be justified," said Lebanese Prime Minister designate Moustapha Adib on Friday, who is working on the formation of a new government, the previous one having resigned in the wake of the 'explosion.

He pleaded for those responsible "to be held to account", "an essential condition to prevent such painful events from happening again".

The company BCC logistics, responsible for the management of the warehouse which caught fire, rejected all responsibility for the new tragedy, calling in a press release to "determine the causes of the fire", and saying to reserve "the right to file a complaint ”.

World

A gigantic fire at the port of Beirut a few weeks after the explosion

World

One month after the explosion in Beirut, a possible survivor under the rubble

• Explosion

• Beirut

• Fire

• World

• Lebanon