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A Chilean search and rescue team in Beirut say they have detected a possible heartbeat of a body under the rubble of a building destroyed by the August 4 blast. If true, then that would mean that the person would have been stuck under the wreckage, alive, for 29 whole days.
Crowd of journalists and residents watching the rescue operation speaking in hushed tones. Rescue team has asked for silence so they can better hear through the life detector listening system they say has detected heartbeats.
Reine Abbas, said she was near the destroyed building two weeks ago when she ‘smelled old blood’ and urged authorities to search the rubble. She said they didn’t respond to her pleas. ‘If they had checked back then, then the body may have been alive today.’ ‘This is Lebanon’
Journos now switching off phones and cameras to avoid intercepting the detection machines.
Two bodies seen in thermal imaging. 1 small curled up body and a larger one. The smaller body showed signs of life, registering 18 breaths/minute. Chances of his survival are & #39;very small& #39; said an NGO worker involved in the rescue. Chilean rescuers came here on their own dime
For perspective, journos drenched in sweat and parched due to very high levels of humidity and a heatwave. Meanwhile, a person, possibly a child, may have been trapped under rubble in these very conditions, alive, for 29 days. Unfathomable.
The search for the two bodies continues. The Chilean rescuers are digging through the rubble with their hands. There& #39;s now a putrid smell hanging in the air -- possible sign of a body slowly surfacing. #beirut 
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Search has temporarily stopped after the structure shook and was deemed unsafe for the rescuers. Frantic whistling as army ordered team to climb down. The team looks like it& #39;s regrouping. #beirut https://abs.twimg.com/hashflags... draggable="false" alt="">
Big development: army has suspended the search until 8 am tomorrow morning citing & #39;safety risk& #39; from shaky structure. They say they will bring a crane in the morning. Crowd is furious: & #39;the child could die.& #39; & #39;we will go and find him.& #39; & #39;you don& #39;t want the truth& #39;
Protester Melissa Fathalla is getting that crane. She says it& #39;s on its way. The army had suspended the operation after rescue deemed too risky and said they needed until 8 am to bring a crane in. & #39;if you& #39;re not going to continue the search then just kill us!& #39; locals tell army.
Some protesters are on the search site vowing to conduct rescue themselves. Other protesters begging them to come back down because of obvious dangers.
Search will resume in 30 minutes. Chilean team, crane and civil defense arriving imminently, multiple soldiers say. This after protest erupted demanding immediate resumption of operation for body showing signs of life. & #39;that breath is the last breath we have,& #39; protesters shout.
This incident is being seen as the embodiment of everything that& #39;s wrong with the Lebanese state -- neglect and a total loss of credibility. The protest that ensued is being seen as the embodiment of people power, and its potential to fulfill the state& #39;s basic functions.
I& #39;ve left and called it a night but many protesters and journos remain. Follow the great reporting of @timourazhari, @lalarian and others.
You could almost hear a pin drop. Crowd of around 200 answers calls for silence in order for machine to better capture breath/heartbeat of possible survivor. Phones are off. I’ve left the cordoned off perimeter to write this. People waiting for news, holding their breath.
local civil defense team extremely pessimistic about even finding a body, much less a survivor. They say they have neither seen nor smelled evidence of a corpse. Chilean machines, of course, suggest otherwise. Do locals believe authorities or foreigners? It seems, the latter.
(Contd) this exemplifies the collapse of trust in local authorities, which prompted the protest that caused the immediate resumption of operations. Moreover, locals had previously urged authorities to search the site, citing putrid smells. Reine Abbas (earlier in thread) is one
Update on signs of life: This morning the listening machine is registering 8 breaths per minute, NGO worker who’s part of the rescue effort Eddy Bitar tells me. Yesterday, it was 18.
Looks like we will soon discover fate of possible survivor detected by machines of Topos Chile team. They are ‘less than half a meter away’ from the bodies in question, heads of ops at Leb Civil Defense tells me. Topos members say they can’t comment. #Beirut https://abs.twimg.com/hashflags... draggable="false" alt="">
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