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Fire erupts at Port of Beirut again

Warehouse filled with oil and tires blamed as source of blaze

Another fire erupted at the Port of Beirut on Thursday, just over a month after an explosion there killed more than 190 people.

According to reports, the Lebanese army said the fire started in a warehouse containing oil and tires. 

Residents of Lebanon’s capital city took to social media Thursday. Posts on Twitter included, “Shortness of breath recorded in the area due to heavy smoke.” Another said, “The fire at Beirut port seemed to die down for a bit but it’s raging full on again now. People in areas that are closer say there are choking fumes.”

Gul Rehman, deputy country director for CARE Lebanon, reported seeing a “large column of black smoke billowing into the sky over Beirut.”


“The information we have received so far shows there is no risk of explosion and the authorities are trying to reassure the population. But people in Beirut are in a state of panic that the fire might get worse,” Rehman said.

“The wait is excruciating. Just over a month after the blast, many people are still suffering the trauma of the explosion that destroyed their houses and took away their loved ones,” Rehman continued. “Many are now living in fear of what to expect in the capital. It’s a huge shock for all of us, here in Beirut and for other vulnerable Lebanese people who have already been suffering from the economic crisis, the pandemic and then the blast.”

The Aug. 4 blast at the Port of Beirut was believed to have been caused by 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been stored in a warehouse. 

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Click for more American Shipper/FreightWaves stories by Senior Editor Kim Link-Wills.

Kim Link Wills

Senior Editor Kim Link-Wills has written about everything from agriculture as a reporter for Illinois Agri-News to zoology as editor of the Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine. Her work has garnered awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Magazine Association of the Southeast. Prior to serving as managing editor of American Shipper, Kim spent more than four years with XPO Logistics.