Bitar Supervises 'Welding' Simulation at Beirut Port Site

The lead investigator into Beirut’s port blast, Judge Tarek Bitar, supervised on Wednesday afternoon a simulation of the welding work that preceded the explosion in hangar 12, the National News Agency said on Thursday.

“The simulation took place in the presence of a number of lawyers representing the concerned parties,” the agency reported, adding that “it was prepared by a joint committee of army officers, the ISF Intelligence Branch, members of the Civil Defense and a judge.”

The welding simulation happened in coordination with the Lebanese Meteorological Service to make sure the weather conditions are completely identical to the weather of August 4, 2020, the day of the explosion.

A detailed scene reconstruction of the last welding stage was done to verify whether the welding was a direct cause of the fire and the subsequent explosion, the NNA said.

A model similar to the port's 'Hangar 12' was built for this purpose, meters away from the crater created by the explosion, with a gate identical to the one that was said to have undergone the welding work.

The virtual simulation was filmed and documented, without media coverage, to be included in the port blast file.