A probe into the devastating Beirut port blast will include every official, employee, and minister who knew about the dangerous material which was stored in the facility.
“The investigation will include everyone who had authority over this file and was aware of the presence of these materials in the port,” according to judicial and security sources, Deutsche press agency (dpa) reported.
On Wednesday several port officials were interrogated by the Lebanese prosecutor over the blast, a judicial source said.
State Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat has interrogated some of the top Beirut officials who were arrested on Friday, the source said without giving further details.
“The prosecutor is keen on accelerating the interrogation as soon as the technical teams on the ground finish their job,” the source who requested anonymity said.
On Friday, a Beirut judge ordered the detention of the director of the Lebanese customs and a port director.
Acting state commissioner to the military court, Fadi Akiki, said that 18 people have been interrogated so far.
“Most of the arrested are still in custody,” the security source said.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas became the latest top European official to visit the devastated area on Wednesday.
“It is something else to see with your own eyes what happened here a few days ago in Beirut, the level of devastation and destruction is almost unimaginable for people living in Germany,” he said.
He had earlier handed a cheque of one million euros to the Lebanese Red Cross. The money is the first part of promised German emergency aid of 20 million euros intended to support Lebanese families affected by the explosion.
German industrial giant Siemens meanwhile said it was willing to deliver and operate two mobile gas turbine power plants in Beirut, on a one-year loan free of charge.
These turbines would provide enough electricity for 10 percent of the city’s population, which has long suffered from power shortages, the company said.
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