BEIRUT—The death toll from this week’s massive explosion in Lebanon’s capital rose to 154 Friday, as people held funerals for their loved ones and protesters geared up for demonstrations against a government they hold responsible for one of worst disasters to hit the tiny Mediterranean country.
Rescue workers from several countries joined local teams in a desperate search for life in the rubble from Tuesday’s explosion, which leveled much of Beirut’s city center. One hundred and forty eight people remain unaccounted for, said Mohammed Nasser, acting country director for the International Rescue Committee, citing Lebanese government figures.
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Lebanese authorities believe that a fire ignited a massive stockpile of ammonium nitrate, a highly combustible material that had been stored in a depot at the port for more than six years.
Details of how the ammonium nitrate came to be stored so close to the city center point to gross negligence on the part of local authorities. More than 2,700 tons of the explosive material had been transferred from a ship that was impounded in 2013. Authorities were supposed to have disposed of the dangerous material, but for reasons that remain unclear, they never did.
Judicial authorities have opened an investigation into the blast. A number of port officials have been placed under house arrest.
Military Public Prosecution Judge Fadi Aqiqi said 16 individuals had been questioned in relation to the explosion so far, including port officials, customs authorities and those responsible for maintenance of the hangar where the ammonium nitrate was stored.
Shock at the magnitude of the blast and the widespread destruction that followed has quickly turned to rage, with many Lebanese questioning how the government could have allowed huge quantities of explosive material to be stored in the heart of the city for so long. Thousands of Beirut residents have lost their homes to the accident.
Overnight, security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters who gathered outside the country’s parliament building. Protest leaders are calling for mass demonstrations on Saturday, seeking to reignite a movement that last year toppled the prime minister but failed to remove an entrenched and corrupt political elite.
Residents demonstrating against the country’s leaders clashed with police while trying to approach government buildings in Beirut on Friday.
Photo: Hassan Ammar/Associated PressEven before the deadly explosion, Lebanon had been laid low by a severe economic crisis and rising levels of coronavirus infections. Now, both are expected to worsen.
On a visit to Beirut Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron vowed to mobilize aid for Lebanon but hinted that assistance would be contingent on reform. When Mr. Macron walked along Gemmayzeh Street—a once-thriving area near the port that was devastated by the blast — Lebanese officials were notably absent.
While foreign governments are rushing short-term aid to Lebanon, chronic corruption as well as the role that Iranian ally Hezbollah plays in the government could impede the delivery of large-scale assistance to the country.
On Thursday, the International Monetary Fund and the Trump administration said they won’t support a $5 billion bailout that Lebanon is seeking without major economic overhauls, including efforts to fight corruption, that have been long sought by the IMF.
The U.S. is particularly troubled by the expanding role of Hezbollah, an organization designated by the U.S. and several other Western nations as a terror group, in the economy and government.
Trump administration officials have pressed the Lebanese government for years to sideline Hezbollah’s political leaders. But Hezbollah is a dominant military and political force with grass roots support in Lebanon, cementing its influence inside the country.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was due to speak later on Friday about the blast.
About 5,000 people have been injured, increasing the strain on hospitals that were already struggling to cope with an influx of patients infected by the coronavirus.
A further 300,000 people were displaced by the blast, according to government figures cited by Mr. Nasser. Some have stayed in or near their shattered homes as they try to repair the damage. Others have moved in with extended family members or are sheltering in schools and churches.
The World Food Program has warned that the severe damage to Lebanon’s largest port would push up food prices in a country that imports nearly 85% of its food. Prices of many staples had already more than doubled this year because of the economic crisis.
The destruction of the country’s largest port could impede the import of much-needed aid. So far, most aid is arriving by plane. Lebanese government ministers are looking into whether Sidon Port can be adapted to take in some of the aid and other goods that normally flow through Beirut.
Read More
- Lebanese Authorities Scramble to Clear Rubble
- Podcast: Beirut Explosion and the Aftermath
- Beirut Blast: Everything You Need to Know
- Beirut Explosion Brings Lebanon to the Brink
- What Is Ammonium Nitrate, the Chemical Behind the Beirut Explosion?
- Probe Focuses on Why Tons of Explosives Were Stored at Port
- The Beirut Explosion in Photos
Write to Isabel Coles at isabel.coles@wsj.com
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