Lebanon seeks satellite images of deadly Beirut explosion site

Nine months later, it remains unknown what triggered an initial fire at the warehouse that then caused the explosion or who was responsible for storing the routing fertiliser at the port warehouse for years

BEIRUT

The judge investigating last year’s massive explosion at Beirut’s port on Tuesday requested that countries with satellites stationed over Lebanon provide authorities with images that could help their investigation, the state news agency reported.

National News Agency did not name the countries that Judge Tarek Bitar asked for images of the port before, during, and after the blast.

Nearly 3,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrates — a highly explosive material used in fertilizers — had been improperly stored in the port for years. The catastrophic blast on Aug.4 killed 211 people and injured more than 6,000, devastating nearby neighborhoods.

Days after the explosion, President Michel Aoun said he had asked France, which has close ties to its former colony, for satellite images from the time to see if they showed any planes or missiles. In the immediate aftermath of the blast, authorities did not rule out an attack, though no evidence emerged to suggest it.

Outgoing Prime Minister Hassan Diab had also said after the explosion that he asked French President Emmanuel Macron for satellite images of the port before and after the blast.