12 wounded in Lebanese Justice Ministry blaze

Twelve people were wounded in a huge fire that broke out on Tuesday at the Justice Ministry building, trapping several employees in their offices, reported Voice of Lebanon radio. The blaze erupted in the fourth and fifth floors of the building located in Beirut’s Mathaf area and firefighting teams have succeeded in extinguishing most of it, said the National News Agency. The cause of the fire remains unknown. Civil defense teams have managed to evacuate most of the employees from the building, said Voice of Lebanon radio. They succeeded in pulling out 12 employees who suffered minor injuries. Among them was General Director of the Justice Ministry Omar Natour who suffered a minor injury and has been transferred to hospital for treatment, it said. He has since been discharged from hospital. Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi soon arrived at the scene to inspect the rescue and firefighting operations. He later issued a statement saying that investigations into the causes of the fire are underway. He added that construction operations will begin on Wednesday to tackle the damage at the ministry. (daily star)