Interpol asked to arrest Beirut blast ship captain
Lebanon has called on Interpol to issue arrest warrants for the Russian captain and owner of the ship responsible for bringing the explosive material that detonated at Beirut’s main port in August.
Nearly 200 people were killed as a result of the blast, which also devastated much of the city.
State media reported on Thursday that the requests had been made for the men, without naming them.
Two men Boris Prokoshev and Cyprus-based Russian businessman Igor Grechushkin were confirmed as the captain and owner respectively by security and judicial sources.
Russia's national Interpol bureau declined to comment, while a spokesman for Cypriot police said they’d received no such request.
Two months since the explosion, questions still remain about why and how the cargo of ammonium nitrate was abandoned in Beirut and why it was subsequently stored in poor conditions there for several years.
There have also been accusations of negligence against Lebanese authorities.
Nearly 20 people have been detained in Lebanon after the blast, including port and customs officials.
