Beirut explosion: Rescuers investigate ‘heartbeat in the rubble’

Rescuers in Beirut are searching through the rubble of a building amid reports a person could be alive – nearly one month after a powerful blast devastated the Lebanese capital.

Specialist sensor equipment has been brought to the Mar Mikhael area following unconfirmed reports that a heartbeat was detected.

More than 200 people died when 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate in a port warehouse detonated on 4 August.

Some 300,000 people were left homeless.

There has been outrage that so much hazardous material was stored unsafely in the port.

The Lebanese government’s resignation shortly afterwards failed to pacify protesters, who clashed with police in the city for several nights.

A crowd has gathered at the collapsed building where a rescue team from Chile is working.

Local reports say they have detected the possibility that someone is alive beneath the rubble thanks to a sniffer dog and a scanner.

One local woman at the scene told the BBC that the rescuers passed by last night and the dog indicated there were signs of life.

Rescuers came back this morning with their equipment to dig down through the rubble. Every so often there are calls for silence so the rescue team can listen intently, the BBC’s Orla Guerin reports from the scene.

One of those waiting for news is a young man holding a Lebanese flag. He told the BBC that when he heard the news he could not stay at home.