BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities have taken into custody 16 people including Customs Chief and Port Manager, as part of an investigation into the Beirut port warehouse explosion that shook the capital, state media reported.
A judge in Beirut ordered the arrest of the director of Lebanese customs and the general manager of the city’s port as part of the investigations into Tuesday’s explosion
Badri Daher, the chief of the customs department, and Hassan Koraytem, the general manager of Beirut’s port, will be detained for as long as investigations continue, according to the state-run National News Agency.
Daher’s predecessor Shafik Merhi was also detained.
The Lebanese government has given an investigative committee four days to determine responsibility for the blast, Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe told French radio.
Health Minister Hamad Hassan said at least 154 people have been killed in the explosion and 5,000 others injured, but the number is expected to rise as search-and-rescue operations continued for missing people.
