#Another possible heartbeat detected under Beirut blast rubble

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Chilean rescue team members dig through the rubble of buildings which collapsed by the last month’s explosion at the city’s port area, after signs of life were detected
Reuters

Beirut residents and onlookers around the world are clinging to hope that a survivor may still be buried under the rubble caused by the port explosion there a month ago.

Local media reported that the Chilean search-and-rescue team’s sensors on Friday night had again detected a heartbeat under the wreckage of the blast that destroyed much of the city’s center.

Rescue workers were still gingerly digging through the rubble Saturday morning.

“Chilean team finished the process and were able to, once again, find a person’s breath under the rubble,” reported Salman Andary, of Sky News, in Arabic on Twitter.

The sensor scanning lasted 40 minutes and was performed several times, Andary reported.

The search is ongoing in the Mar Mikhaël neighborhood of the Lebanese capital, with the Chilean rescue team, called Los Topos Chile, pledging to continue their search as long as there is a sign of life, the961 reported.

There were several unconfirmed reports that a potential second heartbeat was also detected at the site.

“The #ToposChile team just ran a test and breathing was confirmed. Digging into the rubble continues. Some new reports are that it may be two children-most likely flower vendors,” wrote Maya Yahya, the director of Carnegie Middle East, on Twitter.

Lebanese citizens are hoping for a miracle rescue.

Illustrations have begun circulating online depicting Flash, the five-year-old border collie that has been working with the Chileans and first detected movement while going through the rubble.

At least 190 people were killed and another 6,500 were injured during the Aug. 4 blast that occurred when explosive chemicals caught fire while stored in a port warehouse.

The destruction has devastated the country, which was already suffering through an economic crisis exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.