Shocking Beirut pics show ‘hundreds of bags of ammonium nitrate piled up in warehouse days before blast killed 153’

SHOCKING new images have emerged which appear to show hundreds of sacks of chemicals stacked high in a Beirut warehouse just days before the killer blast which left at least 153 dead.

Lebanese TV journalist Dima Sadek posted the grainy photos on Twitter as anger continues to rage in Lebanon over a tragedy now being blamed on government negligence.

Twitter

Lebanese journalist Dima Sadek posted the grainy photos on Twitter[/caption]

Twitter

They are said to have been taken just days before the deadly blast [/caption]

Alongside the worrying images she wrote: “This is how the death bags were stacked.

“The photos were taken days before the incident..when the State Security Agency reported the presence of ammonium nitrate in Ward 12.”

The startling photos, which match earlier images from the warehouse, seem to show the storage facility rammed with bags of the highly-explosive chemical which is used by terrorists to make homemade bombs.

It’s been reported Tuesday’s blast was sparked when a reckless welder caused a fire which then quickly spread to a warehouse called Ward 12.

Lebanon’s leaders have vowed those responsible will “pay the price” after the “nuclear-like” blast left 5,000 injured, 300,000 homeless and half the city’s buildings damaged.

Twitter

Alongside the images she wrote: ‘This is how the death bags were stacked’[/caption]

@Dalatrm

Pictures also emerged said to be of the warehouse site on Thursday [/caption]

However, it has been reported the government were aware that 2,750 tonnes of the chemical were being stored at the city’s port and were seen as a ticking timebomb.

One source close to a port employee said a team that inspected the ammonium nitrate six months ago warned that if it was not moved it would “blow up all of Beirut”.

Port officials have also pointed the finger at the state as they claimed to have repeatedly warned the authorities about the dangerous cargo – seized from a ship owned by a Russian businessman six years ago.

Sources close to the investigation into the explosion have blamed the incident on “inaction and negligence”, saying “nothing was done” by committees and judges involved in removing the explosives.

The cabinet ordered port officials involved in storing or guarding the material since 2014 to be put under house arrest.

Public Works Minister Michel Najjar claimed he had only found out about the presence of the explosive material stashed at the port 11 days before the explosion.

AP:Associated Press

Violence erupted throughout the port city last night[/caption]

Reuters

Armed troops were sent onto the streets to control the mayhem[/caption]

AP:Associated Press

Dozens of protesters threw stones at security forces and set fires[/caption]

“No minister knows what’s in the hangars or containers, and it’s not my job to know,” he said.

The minister claimed he followed up on the matter but his work was then delayed by coronavirus lockdowns.

Najjar said he eventually spoke the general manager of the port on Monday – the day before the blast.

He said he asked him to send him all the relevant documentation, so that he could “look into this matter.”

Badri Daher, Director General of Lebanese Customs, revealed that customs had sent six documents to the judiciary warning that the material posed a danger.

AP:Associated Press

The deadly blast destroyed Beirut’s bustling port[/caption]

EPA

More than 300,000 people have been left homeless[/caption]

Getty Images - Getty

Tensions in the Lebanese capital are now at breaking point[/caption]

He said: “We requested that it be re-exported but that did not happen. We leave it to the experts and those concerned to determine why.”

Last night violence erupted in the city as locals continued to blame Lebanon’s leaders for the deadly explosion.

Dozens of protesters threw stones at security forces and set tyres on fire near the country’s parliament in central Beirut.

They were eventually pushed back after security forces, including army soldiers, fired teargas into the crowd.

Tuesday’s explosion destroyed entire districts in the capital, with homes and businesses reduced to rubble.

AP:Associated Press

Dozens lost their lives in Tuesday evening’s shocking tragedy[/caption]

Getty Images - Getty

Locals face off with security forces on the streets of Beirut[/caption]

AFP or licensors

 A helicopter tries to put out multiple fires at the scene of the massive explosion[/caption]

Dozens of people are still missing feared dead in the rubble of hundreds of collapsed buildings.

At least three more bodies have been recovered in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 153, according to authorities.

The state news agency says 16 people have been taken into custody as part of an investigation announced by the government this week.

Lebanon’s ambassador to Jordan announced her resignation on Thursday, saying “total negligence” by the country’s authorities signalled the need for a leadership change.

In a televised statement aired by Lebanese broadcaster MTV, Ambassador Tracy Chamoun said she could “no longer tolerate” the government’s ineptitude.

“I am announcing my resignation as an ambassador… in protest against state negligence, theft and lying,” said Chamoun, who was appointed to her post in 2017 with the endorsement of President Michel Aoun.

“This disaster rang a bell: we should not show any of them mercy and they all must go,” she added. “This is total negligence.”