A UK-registered chemical company has been found liable by the High Court in London for the Beirut port blast that killed 200 people.

The judgment was an important first step towards justice after Lebanese and international investigations had failed to hold anyone accountable for the 2020 explosion, one of the lawyers who brought the case told The Telegraph.

“This is the first recognition that there is a party responsible for what happened,” Camille Abousleiman said.

The August blast that destroyed the port and several downtown Beirut neighbourhoods was caused by the ignition of tonnes of ammonium nitrate improperly stored in a port warehouse.

Records showed that 2,750 tonnes of fertiliser was being sent to an explosives company in Mozambique in 2013 when it was unloaded at Beirut’s port during a dispute over unpaid transportation fees and the seaworthiness of the vessel transporting it.

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While much remains unclear about why the fertiliser was left at the port for so long, lawyers representing the Beirut Bar Association and three victims’ families argued that London-based company Savaro remained the legal owner of the ammonium nitrate, and was responsible for its proper storage and any damage caused by it. Abandoning the dangerous chemicals did not absolve them of any duty of care, it was argued.

Read more: The Telegraph