UN chief calls for impartial probe into Beirut Port blast

The U.N. chief has called for an impartial and transparent investigation into last year’s massive Beirut port explosion to ensure justice

BEIRUT -- The U.N. chief called on Monday for an impartial and transparent investigation into last year's massive Beirut port explosion to ensure justice, after paying tribute to the victims of the blast.

The Aug. 4, 2020 blast has been described as one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in the world. It devastated the Lebanese capital, killing at least 216 people and injuring thousands.

Standing under the rain, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who is visiting Lebanon, laid a wreath at a memorial bearing the names of the victims at the Beirut Port site of the explosion.

The blast was caused by the detonation of hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse at the port for years, apparently with the knowledge of senior politicians and security officials who did nothing about it.