Najjar Says Port Fire Sparked by Maintenance Works

Caretaker Public Works and Transport Minister Michel Najjar announced Thursday that a huge new blaze at Beirut port was sparked by maintenance works, citing preliminary reports.

“The port fire has been brought under control and there will be a probe after the dousing of the flames,” Najjar told MTV.

“Preliminary reports suggest that a person was doing maintenance works with the use of a metal cutting saw, which produced a flying spark that triggered the blaze,” Najjar added.

He also noted that the fire broke out at a port location that is distant from the site of the devastating August 4 blast.

“We will conduct a comprehensive study about what happened and about the availability of public safety standards,” the minister went on to say.

Najjar had appeared in the morning before Judicial Investigator Judge Fadi Sawwan to give his testimony in the ongoing probe into the August 4 explosion.