Explosive Material Found in Beirut Port After Blast Was Stored for Years, Says President

Explosive Material Found in Beirut Port After Blast Was Stored for Years, Says President
Members of the Lebanese army and the French military ride a boat past the damaged grain silo near site of the massive blast in Beirut's port area, in Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 31, 2020. Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters/Pool
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BEIRUT—Several tonnes of highly explosive material found at Beirut’s port, just weeks after the same chemical was blamed for causing a massive detonation there, had been in storage for 15 years, the Lebanese president said on Friday.

The army said on Sept. 2 it had discovered a stockpile close to the port of 4.35 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, the highly explosive chemical blamed for the huge Aug. 4 blast that killed about 190 people and ruined a swathe of Beirut.