Pentagon chief Mark Esper said “most believe” that Tuesday’s deadly explosion in Lebanon was an accident.
Esper made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum on Wednesday. In the hours after the Beirut blast, President Trump said at a news conference that the explosion may have been the result of a bomb going off in an “attack,” but Lebanese officials have not said that was the case.
“Still getting information on what happened,” the secretary of defense said. “Most believe it was an accident, as reported. Beyond that, I have nothing further to report on that. It’s obviously a tragedy.”
The explosion, which occurred at the Port of Beirut at about 6 p.m. local time, killed at least 135 people and injured 5,000 more. Beirut Gov. Marwan Abboud said Wednesday that the incident rendered between 250,000 and 300,000 people homeless. Experts have said the blast had the force of 1,000 to 1,500 metric tons of TNT, resulting in an explosion about 10% of the intensity of the atomic bomb that the United States dropped on Hiroshima.
Authorities in Lebanon have said that they believe nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at port facilities might have been the cause of the tragedy, and the country’s Cabinet is placing an unspecified number of port officials under house arrest.
Esper said he spoke with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo earlier about the explosion and noted that they have reached out to Lebanon to provide “whatever assistance we can.”
“We mourn for the dozens, if not hundreds, of Lebanese possibly killed and thousands hurt. Lebanon’s struggling right now in a number of ways, and it’s a shame to see it happen. When you see the video, it’s just devastating,” Esper said.
Trump’s Tuesday comments about an “attack” have not been echoed by officials investigating the blast. The Washington Examiner has reached out to the White House for clarification about the president’s remarks.
