Proceedings of the conference regarding the progress of search and rescue operations until 09/08/2020

The Army Command - Directorate of Orientation held a press conference at the Ministry of National Defense regarding the search and rescue operations until 8/8/2020.
The conference began with a speech by Brigadier General Ali Kanso, Director of Orientation, in which he thanked the brotherly and friendly countries for their eagerness to support Lebanon after the explosion that occurred in the port area, and which resulted in catastrophic damage, as these countries sent rescue teams, doctors, field hospitals and various aids. He also thanked the search and rescue teams, who are making enormous efforts alongside the Lebanese teams in the search for missing persons. He also underlined the leadership's desire to complete search operations and eliminate damage in the most comprehensive manner.
After that, Colonel Roger Khoury, commander of the Engineering Regiment, explained the mechanism of operations in the explosion zone by dividing it into several sectors so that each team is assigned to a sector in order to carry out the task as quickly as possible. On the other hand, Colonel Khoury noted that there is little hope of finding survivors, therefore some teams decided to stop working, while others continued to clear the rubble and search for body parts.
He also indicated that work is being carried out around the clock due to the presence of huge amounts of fill, cement and various construction materials in the area, and that there are civil engineering teams inspecting damaged buildings, roads and infrastructure to determine the extent of damage and how to deal with it.
This was followed by speeches from the team leaders: Dutch, Qatari, Greek, German, French, Russian, Polish, Czech, Italian, Spanish, Cypriot, Turkish.
They all provided details of the work done by the aforementioned teams, praised the high level of coordination with the relevant authorities during this stage, and confirmed that no survivors have been found and that the hope of this is slim at this point. The leaders of the French and Italian teams also announced that the two teams had carried out tests to detect the level of toxins in the air, soil and seawater on site, and that no trace of serious pollution was found.
Then, Colonel Elias Aad, head of the Press and Public Relations Department at the Direction of Orientation, gave a detailed explanation of the assistance that the army receives and then provides to the valid institutions, especially to hospitals, in coordination with the Ministry of Public Health. He explained that the field hospitals that have been equipped are:
• A hospital in Tal Al-Zaatar at the disposal of the Military Healthcare, provided by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
• One hospital at Beirut Forum at the disposal of Geitawi Hospital and another at Achrafieh at the disposal of Saint George's Hospital, both provided by the State of Qatar.
• A hospital in the Sports City at the disposal of the Ministry of Public Health, provided by the Russian Federation.
• A hospital at the Lebanese University - Hadath at the disposal of the Ministry of Public Health, provided by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
• A hospital in Third Intervention Regiment HQ in Karantina, provided by the Kingdom of Morocco.
He also indicated that 1,500 food rations have been distributed in the regions of Karantina, Bourj Hammoud and Gemayzeh in coordination with mayors and local authorities, and that the distribution process will continue in the coming days.
He concluded by thanking the countries and teams that provided assistance to Lebanon and the media for their cooperation with the military institution in these critical circumstances.