Having detected signs of life beneath mounds of rubble in Beirut, rescue efforts are underway to save the potential survivor. This comes 30 days after the explosion in the port.
30 days on from a deadly explosion in the city of Beirut, a rescue team is desperately digging up rubble having detected the presence of a potential survivor’s heartbeat. The explosion has killed almost 200 people to date with the final death toll far from being announced.
Rescue efforts underway for potential Beirut explosion survivor
The hope of finding a potential survivor comes as a result of the work of a Chilean sniffer dog in the Gemmayze district of Beirut. Specialist technology has since confirmed the presence of a heartbeat, breathing and a pulse.
It was previously presumed that everyone buried in the rubble was dead.
Eddy Bitar, a rescue worker at the site said “These (heartbeat, breathing and pulse) along with the temperature sensor means there is a possibility of life”.
On Thursday, efforts began to rescue the person beneath the rubble. Ten workers are currently on site. The search was called off overnight due to safety concerns but volunteers stayed using their hands to clear away more of the debris. When the official workers took a break overnight to ensure their own safety, the crowd did not hesitate in making their discontent known. Heavy machinery is being brought to the site today in order to lift the rubble.
The disaster took place on August 4th as a result of an explosion in Beirut port due to a chemical reaction of poorly stored ammonium nitrate. The event has devastated the Lebanese capital leaving 300,000 people homeless, 6,000 injured and 190 so far confirmed dead.
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