BEIRUT — The judge investigating last year’s massive explosion at Beirut’s port has requested that countries with satellites stationed over Lebanon provide authorities with images that could help their investigation, the state news agency reports.
National News Agency doesn’t name the countries that Judge Tarek Bitar asked for images of the port before, during and after the blast.
Nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate — a highly explosive material used in fertilizers — had been improperly stored in the port for years. The catastrophic blast on August 4 killed 211 people and injured more than 6,000, devastating nearby neighborhoods.
Days after the explosion, President Michel Aoun said he had asked France, which has close ties to its former colony, for satellite images from the time to see if they showed any planes or missiles. In the immediate aftermath of the blast, authorities did not rule out an attack, though no evidence emerged to suggest it.