The Lebanese army in a tweet explained that the inferno was at a warehouse where oil and tyres are stored in the port’s duty-free zone.
Balls of fire ascended the atmosphere sending panic in the already troubled city where over 200 people were killed almost a month ago following massive explosions.
The army in the tweet also explained that helicopters are being deployed to aid in putting the fire off.
The fire appeared to have started in a warehouse belonging to a private company that imported cooking oil; it then spread to a stock of rubber tires, the port’s interim general manager, Bassem El-Kaissi, said in a telephone interview.
‘That is why you see the big black clouds,’ Mr. El-Kaissi told The New York Times, adding that it was too early to speculate about how the fire had begun.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK