Lebanon PM Diab, ex-ministers indicted over Beirut port explosion

A Lebanese investigating judge has charged outgoing premier Hassan Diab and three ex-ministers with negligence over the devastating August blast that killed more than 200 people.

A judicial source said on Thursday that the four were charged with "negligence and causing death to hundreds and injuries to thousands more".

The other senior officials charged are former finance minister Ali Hasan Khalil and former ministers of public works and transportation Yusef Fenianos and Ghazi Zaiter. 

They are the first politicians to be indicted over the catastrophic explosion that disfigured the heart of the capital Beirut and stoked a wave of public anger.

Following the explosion, it emerged that top security officials and politicians had known for years about hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer stored haphazardly at the Beirut port but had failed to take precautionary measures.

The indictment decision by judge Fadi Sawan came after an investigation confirmed the suspects had received "several written notices warning them against postponing the disposal of ammonium nitrate fertilizer," the source said.

"They also did not take the necessary measures to avoid the devastating explosion and its enormous damage," added the source.

The judge will begin questioning the suspects on Monday. Diab, who had testified before Sawan in September, resigned in the wake of the explosion.

MG