Jorge Moreira has been charged with terrorism and murder in Lebanon over his role in bringing ammonium nitrate explosives into the country. The August 2020 blast killed more than 200 people and devastated entire suburbs.
Buildings as far as 10 kilometers (6 miles) away were damaged by the blastImage: Hussein Malla/AP/picture alliance
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Spanish authorities said on Thursday that Portuguese national Jorge Moreira had been released on bail and was awaiting an extradition trial to Lebanon.
Moreira, 43, was arrested at Madrid-Barajas Airport the day before as Spanish authorities acted on an Interpol red notice. He is wanted in Lebanon for his suspected connection to the August 2020 Beirut port explosion that killed more than 200 people.
Investigators believe that the suspect ordered the 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been stored haphazardly in a warehouse since 2014 before catching fire and creating one of the largest nonnuclear explosions in history.
In pictures: Beirut blast aftermath — destruction, chaos and protests
A powerful explosion rocked the Lebanese capital of Beirut, killing at least 150 people and injuring thousands more. Residents have taken to the streets to demand government reforms and resignations over the blast.
Image: Getty Images/D. Carde
Panic in Beirut
Two immense blasts shook Beirut and the surrounding areas of the Lebanese capital, prompting panic as residents rushed to safety. "I have never in my life seen a disaster this big," Beirut's governor told local TV.
Image: Reuters/M. Azakir
Blasts felt in city's outskirts
The explosions, centered in Beirut's port region, were felt throughout the capital. Even residents in the city's outskirts reported hearing the blast, with some saying their windows were shattered.
Image: Reuters/K. Sokhn
Dozens killed, thousands injured
Lebanon's Health Ministry said at least 100 people were killed and more than 4,000 others were injured.
Image: Reuters/M. Azakir
'Unacceptable' ammonium nitrate stock
Prime Minister Hassan Diab said that a large stockpile of 2,750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate in a warehouse at the port had caused the second, larger explosion. "It is unacceptable that a shipment of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate has been present for six years in a warehouse, without taking preventive measures," Diab said.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/STR
Race to save survivors
More than 30 Red Cross teams raced to the scene, with many locals lending a hand to aid rescue efforts. Hospitals warned that they were quickly filled beyond capacity — and called for blood donations as well as generators to help keep the electricity on.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/H. Shbaro
Felt as far away as Cyprus
The blasts struck with the force of a 3.5 magnitude earthquake, according to Germany's
geosciences center GFZ. Residents in Cyprus, some 110 miles (180 km) across the sea from Beirut, reported hearing and feeling the blast.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/STR
People are 'asking for their loved ones'
DW's Bassel Aridi said people were using social media to try to track down their loved ones after the explosions. Aridi also visited a hospital in Beirut after the blasts. "What I saw in the hospital was so dramatic. All the hospitals have announced that they are totally overloaded."
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Ammar
Two-week state of emergency
Lebanese authorities fear many more people are buried beneath rubble. President Michel Aoun scheduled an emergency Cabinet meeting for Wednesday and said a two-week state of emergency should be declared.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/STR
Lebanon faces double-blow
The devastating blasts come as Lebanon experiences severe economic turbulence, with many people taking to the streets in recent months to protest the financial situation. Prime Minister Hassan Diab declared that Wednesday would be a national day of mourning for the victims of the explosion.
Image: Getty Images/D. Carde
Protesters demand reforms and resignations
Thousands of protesters took to the streets four days after the explosion, blaming the blast on government corruption and mismanagement boiling. Protesters demanded government resignations and fresh elections, with many occupying government ministries. Police responded with tear gas.
Image: Reuters/G. Tomasevic
First resignation
Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad became the first government minister to resign in the wake of the blast, five days after it took place. "After the enormous Beirut catastrophe, I announce my resignation from government," she said in a statement carried by local media. She apologized to the people of Beirut for failing them.
Image: Getty Images/AFP
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What caused the Beirut blast?
It is thought that the ammonium nitrate entered the country in 2013 onboard the Rhosus, a Moldovan-flagged ship sailing from Georgia to Mozambique. At the time, Moreira was an employee of Mozambican firm Fabrica de Explosivos de Mocambique (FEM), a position he left in 2016.
The Rhosus was seized by Lebanese authorities after a company filed a lawsuit against its owner over a debt dispute. In 2014, port authorities in Beirut unloaded the shipment and stored it in a derelict warehouse with cracked walls.
Two other Interpol red notices have also been issued for the Russian captain and owner of the ship. They have not yet been apprehended.
Moreira has been charged with "terrorism" and "causing death through the use of explosives" in the incident that devastated entire neighborhoods in Beirut.
In 2021, a Portuguese judge had rejected an extradition request from Lebanon, citing incorrect paperwork.
Moreira had flown to Chile earlier this week, but authorities reacting to the Interpol notice put him immediately back on a flight to Spain. Spanish authorities have not clarified why he was allowed to board a plane to Chile in the first place.
His extradition procedure is expected to last several months. He was released from jail after posting bail, but is not allowed to leave Spain.
