BEIRUT, August 5./TASS/. The Lebanese authorities don’t believe that the participation of international experts in the probe into the Beirut port blast is needed, Lebanon 24 TV channel quoted Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi as saying on Wednesday.
"We don’t need the participation of international experts in the investigation of the Beirut blast, our investigators have the required competency," he said. The minister said he had known nothing about highly explosive goods in the port of the Lebanese capital.
Meanwhile, earlier on Wednesday, the director of the Beirut port and the chief of the Lebanese Customs Administration, Badri Daher, said that the customs service and the General Security Directorate had repeatedly sought the removal of the dangerous cargoes from the port, but their requests had been ignored for several years.
On Wednesday, the government ruled to put the Beirut Port officials under house arrest until concrete officials were held responsible. Authorities pledge to complete the probe into the blast within five days.
A powerful blast rocked the Beirut seaport area near the Lebanese Navy’s base on August 4, sending a shockwave through residential neighborhoods of the Lebanese capital. The shockwave destroyed and damaged dozens of buildings and cars. Local authorities say the blast was caused by the detonation of 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, stored in the port after being confiscated by the customs services in 2015.
According to latest updates, at least 113 people were killed and over 4,000 were injured. Dozens are still missing. Over 300,000 people were left homeless.