Lebanon Starts Clearance of Dangerous Port Containers Months After the Deadly Explosion

Combi Lift, a German heavy lift transport company that was already working in the port, started clearing the containers soon after the contract was signed on November 11, the caretaker prime minister's office told AFP.

The containers, which include corrosive acids, have been stored in an open-air cargo zone for over a decade under the supervision of Lebanon's customs authority, a spokesperson said.

Combi Lift will ship the chemicals in special containers as part of a $3.6 million deal, with the port authority reportedly to pay $2 million of that.

Relatively, interim port chief Bassem al-Kaissi said that removing the chemicals was a necessary "preemptive step," warning that if they caught fire "Beirut will be wiped out."

The containers sparked concern after the mammoth August 4 disaster killed more than 200 people, injured at least 6,500 others and ruined swathes of the capital.

The blast was caused by a shipment of ammonium nitrate fertilizer that caught fire, years after it was impounded at the port.