Beirut explosion: Search continues for possible survivor

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  • Beirut port explosion

media captionRescuers remove rubble in the hope of finding someone alive

Hopes are fading in Beirut that anyone will be found beneath the rubble of a building destroyed in last month’s explosion, following two days of search efforts.

Rescue workers began looking through the debris after sensor equipment detected possible signs of life.

But Chilean rescuers ended a second day of searching without any results.

Beirut held a minute’s silence on Friday to mark a month since the explosion, which killed almost 200.

Thousands more were injured by the blast, which happened when 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate detonated.

  • How long can survivors last under rubble?

There has been outrage that so much hazardous material was stored unsafely in a warehouse in the city’s port, close to many residential areas.

The Lebanese government’s resignation shortly afterwards failed to pacify protesters, who clashed with police in the city for several nights.

One month on, seven people are still missing, according to Lebanese officials.

What’s happening with the search?

Search efforts got underway after a rescue team from Chile said it had detected possible signs of life under a destroyed building in Beirut’s Gemmayze area.

The rescuers were walking through the area on Wednesday night when their sniffer dog – trained to find bodies – gave a sign that there was a person inside. When they returned on Thursday, the dog went to the same place and gave the same sign. Specialist sensor equipment then detected a pulsing signal in the area.

According to a local source, the team’s highly sensitive equipment can detect breathing at a depth of 15m (49ft).

Rescue workers cleared rubble from the site, as crowds of people watched, hoping for a miracle.

Onlookers

image captionPeople at the scene are hoping for a miraculous story of survival

The head of the Chilean rescue team, Francisco Lermanda, said rescuers dug three tunnels to try to reach the site where pulse signals were detected.

But the team halted their search on Friday night with no sign of any survivor, or any body. They said they would return in the morning.

More on the explosion in Beirut

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