Container fire under control

BEIRUT — A fire broke out Monday morning at the Beirut port and was brought under control by the capital's firefighters, officials told our publication.

The thick black smoke rising over the Karantina district in the morning was caused by a fire involving several containers stored at the port. The containers held lithium batteries, electrical devices and fabrics, which led to the intervention of the fire brigade. Firefighters quickly contained the flames, then removed the burned materials and cooled the container, authorities said.

The management and administration of the Port of Beirut later clarified that the incident was due to a "limited recurrence" of a fire that had broken out a day earlier in an isolated container, which had caught fire while the ship carrying it was still at sea. "A small fire broke out yesterday in one of the containers aboard a ship in high seas as it was en route to the Port of Beirut. As soon as the incident occurred, the ship's captain reported that the fire was under control," according to a statement relayed by the state-run National News Agency.

The port administration and the Lebanese Navy then authorized the ship to dock "under enhanced security and safety measures" and "after confirming that the fire was out and fully contained," port authorities said.