Investigator Probes Outgoing Lebanon Premier Over Port Blast

(Bloomberg) -- Lebanon's outgoing Prime Minister Hassan Diab testified Thursday before the lead investigator probing the Beirut port blast, the first cabinet official to do so.

Fadi Sawwan focused on directives Diab gave authorities with regard to the stock of ammonium nitrate that was kept at the port from late 2013 until it exploded on Aug. 4, according to an official in the judiciary, who asked not to be named because the proceedings weren't public.

The investigator also asked Diab about why he canceled a planned trip to the port weeks before the explosion, the official said.

Sawwan is set to question public works and finance ministers in governments since a cargo ship unloaded the ammonium nitrate. He has issued 25 arrest warrants for port and customs officials, including the former and current heads of the Lebanese customs.

Some 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded at the port, the country's economic lifeline, killing more than 180 people, injuring thousands more and devastating surrounding neighborhoods.

Diab's cabinet resigned in the face of mounting anger after reports that previous administrations ignored warnings about the risk of keeping the material at the port.

The official file on the ammonium nitrate was sent to Diab on July 20, who asked the Higher Defense Council to look into it. The council referred it four days later to the Public Works Ministry -- the entity responsible for port operations -- and the Ministry of Justice, according to documents provided by the premier's office.

The Public Works Ministry received the documentation just hours before the blast flattened the port. Diab's office attributed the delay in its arrival to the coronavirus lockdown

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