The investigative judge in the case of the Beirut port explosion, Judge Tarek Bitar, oversaw a reenactment of the welding workshop that preceded the blast, which occurred in warehouse number 12 on August 4, 2020. A detailed re-enactment of the final welding stage was conducted to verify whether the welding had a direct impact on causing the initial fire and subsequently the explosion.
For this purpose, a replica of warehouse number 12 was created just meters away from the gap left by the explosion in the Beirut port, including a matching gate that was said to have undergone the welding process. The virtual simulation was filmed and documented with videos and photos, away from the media, in preparation for inclusion in the case file.
The reenactment took place in the presence of several lawyers representing the involved parties, as well as various specialists. A joint committee comprised of officers from the Lebanese Army, the Information Division of the Internal Security Forces, Civil Defense personnel, and a judge supervised the field and logistical preparations. The operation was coordinated with the meteorological authority to ensure that the weather conditions during the reenactment matched those on the day of the explosion on August 4, 2020.
