The "National Council for Scientific Research" confirmed in a statement that "in response to requests from several official bodies to investigate the gap that appeared in the outskirts of the town of Barqa in Baalbek, the council formed a delegation of specialists that included Dr. Amin Shaban, a research director at the National Center for Remote Sensing, Dr. Merline Brax, the director of the National Center for Geophysics, Dr. Mohsen Rahal, head of the Civil Engineering Department at the Higher Institute of Engineering at Saint Joseph University in Beirut, and Engineer Jihad Haidar, secretary of the Disaster and Crisis Management Room in the Baalbek-Hermel Governorate." The statement added: "On the 4th of this month, the delegation, in the presence of Dr. Tamara Al-Zain, the general secretary of the National Council for Scientific Research, Hamid Kiroz, the mayor of Bishwat, and MP Antoine Habshi, visited the mentioned site at the geographical coordinates (34°09'47"N & 36°10'08"E). Their examination concluded that there is a ground gap with a diameter ranging between 2 and 3 meters and an initial depth exceeding 25 meters in the Barqa area within the mentioned coordinates. This gap is located in an area dominated by limestone rocks from the Middle Cretaceous geological period, within a depression of a surface water stream covered by cracked and thick clay soil (over 10 meters deep). Below this depth, limestone rocks exposed to karstification (a process of dissolution and erosion of limestone due to groundwater) create gaps in these rocks (dolines), many of which can be observed in various regions in Lebanon (such as the area between Ayoun Al-Samman and Hadath Baalbek). However, this gap at the mentioned site was covered by thick soil and was not visible on the surface."
The statement pointed out that "the mentioned site is precisely on one of these covered karstic gaps, hidden under a layer of unstable clay soil which forms a weak point. It may have been subjected to fissuring over time, leading to its collapse, and recent seismic tremors could have accelerated this collapse, revealing the gap. Scientifically, this phenomenon is natural, and there is a possibility of numerous such gaps covered by thick soil in the area, where similar gaps have previously been reported, albeit at lesser depths. This requires citizens to be cautious upon noticing cracks in the surface soil. The council will collaborate with specialized teams to conduct additional geophysical surveys to better understand the extent and spread of the gaps in this location."
The statement concluded: "Practically, the council recommended the necessity of securing the gap with a sturdy fence (not with tape as currently exists), allowing for a wide margin several meters beyond the gap, to alert citizens from passing near it, especially as it may expand due to the fragility of the soil and the possibility of adjacent gaps not being ruled out due to the region's nature, as mentioned earlier. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to fill the gap to ensure public safety."
