Lebanese army has announced that seven people, including at least three Lebanese nationals, remained missing after an August 4 blast at Beirut port that left at least 188 dead.
Read Also: Beirut Explosion Death Toll Rises To 100 And Over 4000 Wounded
Army spokesman Elias Aad during a press conference on Saturday, August 29 said;
Search and rescue operations will not stop until the missing are found. There are still seven missing people: three Lebanese nationals whose relatives have submitted DNA samples, three Syrian nationals and one Egyptian national.
The army spokesman stated that the figure was compiled from data submitted by the country’s Internal Security Forces, in coordination with the Red Cross.
The ISF had last week said it identified the remains of 33 people who had gone missing following the explosion.
The health ministry on Saturday noted that the death toll from the blast had climbed to 188.
Read Also: FBI Team Heads To Lebanon To Assist In Probe Of Beirut Blast
The explosion of a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate fertilizer in the port of Beirut also injured at least 6,500 people and left tens of thousands more homeless, piling new misery on the city after months of economic crisis and the coronavirus pandemic.
On Friday, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that an estimated 300,000 people including around 100,000 children, whose homes were damaged or destroyed in the blast, face a lack of access to critical safe water and sanitation services.
UNICEF Lebanon Representative Yukie Mokuo stressed;
As COVID-19 cases continue to surge, it is more critical than ever to ensure that children and families whose lives were turned upside down by the explosion have access to safe water and sanitation.
