Beirut port blast 'caused by only 500 tonnes of fertiliser', says PM

Caretaker prime minister Hassan Diab asks where the rest of the supposed 2,700 tonnes was stored

The Hamra district in the centre of the Lebanese capital Beirut shows a smoke plume rising following a huge explosion that rocked the port of Beirut.AFP

The FBI found that less than a quarter of the chemicals claimed to have been responsible for the explosion that shook Beirut in August was stored at the port, caretaker prime minister Hassan Diab said on Tuesday.

Lebanese officials, including Mr Diab, had said the blast, which killed more than 200 people and destroyed large parts of the capital, involved the explosion of 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored at the port for more than six years.

His latest remarks cast further doubt over the fate of an investigation, which has been marred by controversies and political tension.

"The FBI report revealed that the amount that exploded is only 500 tonnes," Mr Diab, whose government resigned after the explosion, told AFP. "Where did the 2,200 tonnes go?"

It remains unclear who owned the chemicals or why they were held at one of the Middle East’s busiest ports for so long.

Fadi Sawan, the judge leading the investigation into the explosion, charged Mr Diab and three other former ministers with criminal negligence.

The charges fuelled tension between President Michel Aoun and prime minister-designate Saad Hariri, who called the indictment an “attack” on the post of premier, a position reserved for Sunni Muslims under Lebanon's power-sharing system.

Mr Sawan later suspended the investigation after two of the four indicted officials asked the Supreme Court in Beirut to transfer the case to another judge.

The request was made by Member of Parliament and former finance minister Ali Khalil, who is a close aide to parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri, and former public works minister Ghazi Zeaiter, who is also a member of Mr Berri’s parliamentary bloc.

Mr Aoun’s political foes said the charges were politically driven and against the constitution, which protects officials against prosecution for decisions made in their line of work.

Lebanon has been without a fully functioning government since Mr Diab’s resignation, despite international calls for the swift formation of a Cabinet that commits to implementing reforms.

Those changes are necessary for Lebanon to gain access to international financial support to help it weather its worst financial and economic crisis since the civil war of 1975 to 1990.