Two years after blast, Beirut victims file complaint in US court

On August 4, 2020, at least 215 people died and another 6,000 were injured after a chemical explosion in the port of Beirut, Lebanon. Two years after the tragedy, nine of the victims filed a complaint against the company TGSwhich would be related to the vessel in which highly explosive chemicals were stored.

In the process, applicants presented a claim of US$ 250 million (about R$ 1.3 billion) against the Norwegian North American company. The victims’ lawyers told the Reuters qthat the company is “responsible” for the damage caused by the explosion.

wanted by CNN , TGS stated that it was informed about the lawsuit. “We deny any and all allegations raised in the lawsuit, and we intend to vigorously defend this matter in court. A formal response to the lawsuit will be submitted in due course,” it said in a statement.

Although the investigation has made little progress since the incident, at the time of the incident, Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab said the explosion was caused by 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that were stored in the port.

The extremely explosive chemicals arrived at the site aboard the Moldovan-flagged vessel Rhosus in 2013. The cargo, which is used as a raw material in the production of fertilizers, remained in the port until it exploded on August 4, 2020.

The force of the explosion was equivalent to a magnitude 3.3 earthquake on the Richter scale, leaving damage within a radius of 10 kilometers.

According to Reuters, the Rhosus had been sub-chartered in 2012 by seismic studies company Spectrum, which was acquired by geophysical services organization TGS seven years later. The company has corporate headquarters in Oslo, Norway, and operational headquarters in Houston, Texas, as well as offices in other countries.

According to TGS, a survey was even conducted in Lebanon in 2013 by a subcontractor on behalf of Spectrum. Without naming the vessel, the company says the allegations in the lawsuit attempt to link the 2013 and 2020 investigations.

“Following the incident in 2020, there were inquiries into the survey conducted in 2013. At that time, a comprehensive investigation was carried out, which confirmed that Spectrum acted diligently in its conduct of the inquiry and had no responsibility for the Beirut incident,” the statement said. company by note.

remember the events

A plume of red smoke drifted over the Lebanese capital after a deafening roar as firefighters rushed to the port to try to contain the fire.

A resident of the city who was far away from the blast said her windows were destroyed in the incident.

“What I felt was like an earthquake,” Rania Marsi told CNN . “The apartment swayed horizontally and suddenly it felt like an explosion, the windows and doors swung open. The glass shattered. Many homes were damaged or destroyed,” he added.

The explosion in the port of Beirut also hit the offices of the country’s former prime minister Saad Hariri and the branch of the CNN in central Beirut.

“I saw a ball of fire and smoke rising over Beirut. People were screaming and running, bleeding. Balconies were ripped off buildings. The skyscraper windows broke and fell onto the street,” a witness told Reuters.

Images of the city after the explosion show buildings and cars completely destroyed, in addition to all kinds of rubble covering the ground.

Hospitals were filled with wounded, as Red Cross teams worked on the streets to rescue survivors.

According to the report of a producer from CNN in Beirut, the emergency of one of the capital’s hospitals presented a “chaotic scene”. A few hours after the incident, Ghazi Balkiz said he saw doctors performing screenings in the middle of the corridors in view of the number of people arriving at the unit.

In the midst of the chaos, the number of dead and injured grew over the days, reaching over 200 fatalities and more than 6,000 injuries. The material damage was estimated between US$ 3.8 and US$ 4.6 billion (between R$ 20 and R$ 24 billion).

political consequences

Six days after the explosion, faced with a wave of protests and a strong economic crisis, the Lebanese government announced its resignation.

“We are taking a step back to stand with the people and fight the battle for change with them. We want to open the door to national salvation so that all Lebanese can participate in the creation of this project. That is why I announce today the resignation of this cabinet. May God protect Lebanon,” Hassan Diab said in his speech.

After a year under provisional governments, a new cabinet of ministers was formed in September 2021. Najib Mikati, a former billionaire, took over as prime minister.

Before Mikati two other politicians tried to form a government after the resignation of Hassan Diab: Mustapha Adib and Saad al-Hariri. Both resigned in the face of political impasses involving the country.

Investigation

The investigation into the explosion has made little progress in the past two years. Since then, the first judge appointed to the case, Fadi Sawan, has been removed and his successor, Tarek Bitar, is struggling to move forward.

Sawan was withdrawn in February 2021 after a court accepted the request of two of the former ministers accused by the magistrate of negligence — Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zeaite.

Khalil and Zeaiter, a third former minister and the then prime minister, Hassan Diab, pleaded not guilty to Sawan’s charges, refused to be questioned and accused the judge of abuse of power.

Reuters even had access to a document that proved that the president and prime minister of Lebanon were aware, before the explosion, of the risks posed by the tons of ammonium nitrate stored in the port.

Shortly after the one-year anniversary of the tragedy, Judge Bitar issued at least two arrest warrants: against lawmaker Ali Hassan Khalil, a senior Amal official and former finance minister, and former public works minister Youssef Finianos. Both were never implemented.

According to a report by Human Rights Watch held in August 2021, Bitar investigated more than one theory as to what caused the explosion. The three main ones were:

Bitar’s investigation triggered opposing positions among religious groups active in the country. While the Christian Free Patriotic Movement bloc defended the judge’s actions, the Shiite group Hezbollah opposed the investigation.

Amid the doubts that remained after the tragedy, last Sunday (31), part of the silos (reservoirs) at the port of Beirut collapsed after a fire burned the place for weeks.

On the day of the collapse, Lebanese Transport Minister Ali Hamie told Reuters that other parts of the structure could still collapse.

*With information from CNN and Reuters

** US$ 1 = R$ 5.28