[News] Explosion in Lebanon: team of Chilean rescuers investigates sign of life under rubble a month after mega-explosion

[Dr.Drako]

 

A Chilean team of rescuers detected possible signs of life in the rubble of a building collapsed by the powerful explosion almost a month ago in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon.

Specialists have brought survivor detection sensors to the Mar Mikhael area, after there were reports that heartbeats were detected.

A crowd gathered in the collapsed building in Mar Mikhael where a team of rescuers from Chile, a seismic country with specialists in this type of task, work.

More than 200 people died on August 4 following the explosion of some 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that were in a warehouse in the port of Lebanon.

 

Some 300,000 people were made homeless by the massive damage to homes and buildings, a crisis that prompted the Lebanese government to resign after intense demonstrations.

 

Local reports say they have detected, thanks to a sniffer dog and a scanner, the possibility that someone is alive under the rubble.

"These (breathing and pulse signals) together with the temperature sensor means that there is a possibility of life," rescuer Eddy Bitar told reporters.

A woman at the scene told the BBC that rescuers arrived at the scene last night and the dog indicated there were signs of life.
The crews returned this morning with their equipment to dig through the rubble.

Specialists ask for silence from time to time so that the team can listen carefully, reports BBC journalist Orla Guerin, present at the scene.
The Chileans arrived in Lebanon on September 1. According to a local source, they have highly sensitive equipment that can detect respiration at a depth of 15 m.

So far there is no confirmation that anyone is alive under the rubble, but some of those gathered are hopeful, says Guerin.

One of those waiting for news is a young man holding a Lebanese flag. He told the BBC that when he heard the news, he couldn't stay home.

 

Mar Mikhael was one of the areas most affected by the shock wave that generated the explosion on August 4.

It is a historic neighborhood near the port. It was famous for its nightlife before the disaster.