The scene of the explosion at a restaurant in Beirut, which killed nine people on April 30, 2024. (Credit: Zeina Antonios)
Beirut's deputy public prosecutor, Zaher Hamade, brought charges against two people and a company on Thursday as part of the preliminary investigation into the deadly fire that broke out after an explosion at the Pizza Secrets restaurant in the Lebanese capital on April 30, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported. The fire caused the deaths of nine people, most of them employees of the restaurant located in the Bechara al-Khoury district of Beirut.
Judge Hamade moved to prosecute the restaurant's owner, Wissam Matar, and its manager, Mohammad al-Labani, for "causing the deaths of workers and violating administrative regulations." The restaurant, which opened a few months before the tragedy, had no emergency exit.
The magistrate also incriminated the "Natgaz" company, two employees of which also died in the explosion while on site to "collect money from a delivery" of gas cylinders, according to the testimony of a relative of one of the victims.
In a press release issued the day after the tragedy, the Beirut Fire Brigade contradicted reports that the incident had been caused by the welding of gas pipes inside the restaurant. Contacted again by L'Orient-Le Jour, the fire brigade said it had no further information to share on the subject and said we should await the outcome of the investigation, which will take its course under the responsibility of Beirut's senior examining magistrate, Bilal Halaoui, who is now in charge of the case.
