Hunt for survivor one month after Beirut blast continues

The August 4 explosion killed 191 people, making it Lebanon's deadliest peacetime disaster

The National

September 05, 2020

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Rescuers resumed a search on Saturday for a possible survivor under the rubble in Beirut, buoyed by faint hopes of a miracle a month after an explosion in the city's port.

The August 4 blast killed 191 people, making it Lebanon's deadliest peacetime disaster.

One month on, Lebanese across the grieving country observed a minute of silence on Friday, while seven people are still missing.

Hopes emerged Thursday that one could be found alive after a specialist sensor device detected a heartbeat under the debris of a collapsed building.

"I was not aware I needed a miracle that much. Please God, give Beirut this miracle it deserves," said Selim Mourad, a 32-year-old filmmaker.

Chilean and Lebanese rescuers on Friday lifted rubble from the site between the hard-hit districts of Gemmayzeh and Mar Mikhail.

Francisco Lermanda, the head of the Chilean team, told reporters late Friday that the rescue work was launched after experts detected slow breathing under the rubble at a depth of three metres (yards).

Onlookers gather as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. AFP
Onlookers gather as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. AFP
A Chilean rescue worker holds a sniffer dog Flash by the paw as others dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut. AFP
A Chilean rescue worker holds a sniffer dog Flash by the paw as others dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut. AFP
Onlookers gather as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. AFP
Onlookers gather as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. AFP
Onlookers gather as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. AFP
Onlookers gather as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. AFP
Onlookers gather as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. EPA
Onlookers gather as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. EPA
Onlookers gather as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. AFP
Onlookers gather as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. AFP
Onlookers gather as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. AFP
Onlookers gather as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. AFP
Onlookers gather as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. AFP
Onlookers gather as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. AFP
Rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. Reuters
Rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. Reuters
Rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. AFP
Rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. AFP
Rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. AFP
Rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. AFP
Rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. Reuters
Rescue workers dig through the rubble of a badly damaged building in Lebanon's capital Beirut in search of possible survivors from a mega-blast at the adjacent port one month ago. Reuters

But it was still unclear if anyone was "alive or dead", Lermanda said.

"We had to dig three tunnels to reach the spot where the pulse was detected," he added.

A member of the Lebanese civil defence at the site said the operation could be halted in the evening and resume on Saturday morning.

The pulse had slowed significantly on Friday compared to a previous recording, rescue coordinator Nicholas Saade said earlier in the day.

"After removing the big chunks, we scanned again for heartbeats or respiration, it showed low beat/respiration" levels of seven per minute, he said. "The reading before was about 16 to 18."

French civil engineer Emmanuel Durand, who is assisting the rescue effort, said 3D mapping scans of the building had so far shown no signs of life.

"What we have seen so far is, unfortunately, no trace of any victim or body. We have been conducting two scans on two different rooms," he said.

The area being excavated was among the hardest hit by the blast that was so powerful it was heard in Cyprus, some 240 kilometres (150 miles) away.

The explosion piled on new misery for Lebanese reeling from the coronavirus pandemic and the country's worst economic crisis in decades.

A sniffer dog deployed by Chilean rescuers responded Wednesday night to a scent from the site, Beirut governor Marwan Abboud said.

After detecting a pulse on Thursday, Lebanese rescuers teamed up with the Chileans to find survivors.

Lebanon lacks the tools and expertise to handle advanced search and rescue operations, which are now being supported by international experts.

The Chileans, who arrived recently with specialist sensors that can detect heartbeats and breathing, have been praised as heroes by many Lebanese.

Lebanese authorities came under more fire from an anxious public after Thursday's search and rescue operation was paused for two hours.

The army issued a statement Friday in response to the criticism, saying the Chilean team stopped work at 11.30pm because it feared a wall might collapse. It added that army experts inspected the site and two cranes were brought in to remove the wall, after which the search resumed.

A woman, draped in a black-striped Lebanese flag, looks at the site of the massive explosion at Beirut's port area, during a demonstration to mark one month since the cataclysmic August 4 explosion that killed 191 people, in the Lebanese capital Beirut. AFP
A woman, draped in a black-striped Lebanese flag, looks at the site of the massive explosion at Beirut's port area, during a demonstration to mark one month since the cataclysmic August 4 explosion that killed 191 people, in the Lebanese capital Beirut. AFP
A woman holds a noose as she observes a minute of silence to mark one month since the massive explosion at Beirut's port area. Reuters
A woman holds a noose as she observes a minute of silence to mark one month since the massive explosion at Beirut's port area. Reuters
Families of Beirut port explosion victims carry their pictures during a minute of silence and prayer to mark one month of Beirut port explosion. EPA
Families of Beirut port explosion victims carry their pictures during a minute of silence and prayer to mark one month of Beirut port explosion. EPA
Families of Beirut port explosion victims carry their pictures during a minute of silence and prayer to mark one month of Beirut port explosion. EPA
Families of Beirut port explosion victims carry their pictures during a minute of silence and prayer to mark one month of Beirut port explosion. EPA
Protesters carry torches and hangman noose as they demand the punishment of those responsible for the port explosion during a moment of silence to mark one month of Beirut port explosion. EPA
Protesters carry torches and hangman noose as they demand the punishment of those responsible for the port explosion during a moment of silence to mark one month of Beirut port explosion. EPA
Firefighters hold a flag as they commemorate a month since Beirut's deadly explosion. Getty Images
Firefighters hold a flag as they commemorate a month since Beirut's deadly explosion. Getty Images
Protesters wave a Lebanese flag and hold nooses, which have become symbols of public anger against the Lebanese government, as they commemorate a month since the city's deadly explosion. Getty Images
Protesters wave a Lebanese flag and hold nooses, which have become symbols of public anger against the Lebanese government, as they commemorate a month since the city's deadly explosion. Getty Images
Protesters hold torches and nooses as they commemorate a month since the city's deadly explosion. Getty Images
Protesters hold torches and nooses as they commemorate a month since the city's deadly explosion. Getty Images
Paper lanterns in the shape of a Lebanese flag mark one month since the city's deadly explosion. Getty Images
Paper lanterns in the shape of a Lebanese flag mark one month since the city's deadly explosion. Getty Images
A woman sings on a pile of rubble near paper lanterns arranged in the shape of a Lebanese flag to mark one month since the city's deadly explosion. Getty Images
A woman sings on a pile of rubble near paper lanterns arranged in the shape of a Lebanese flag to mark one month since the city's deadly explosion. Getty Images
Families of Beirut port explosion victims carry their pictures during a minute of silence and prayer to mark one month of Beirut port explosion. EPA
Families of Beirut port explosion victims carry their pictures during a minute of silence and prayer to mark one month of Beirut port explosion. EPA

The stoppage sparked an outcry online.

"There is a heart beating in Mar Mikhail, and there are heartless officials who decided to stop the rescue operation," activist Zahia Awad tweeted.

As well as killing more than 190 people, the explosion injured at least 6,500 and left 300,000 homeless.

Hassan Diab, who quit along with his government after the blast, said 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate had blown up. The fertiliser had been stored in a warehouse for years without precautions.

Several gatherings organised by the army, civil society groups and families of the victims were held on Friday to mark one month since the blast, with many taking part in a minute of silence.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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