Pulse signal prompts search for Beirut survivor

Beirut officials scrambled Thursday to investigate possible signs of life under the rubble caused by last month's immense port explosion, amid a surge of hope that someone might still be alive after the deadly incident. 

Special sensory equipment was brought to the Gemmayze area of the city to investigate reports of a pulse signal, possibly indicating a survivor. A rescue team set up floodlights at the site as the sun set, with one rescue worker carrying a rescue dog onto the pile of debris.

Francesco Lermonda, a Chilean volunteer, said their equipment identifies breathing and heartbeats from humans, not animals. He said it was rare, but not unheard of, for someone to survive in those conditions for a month.

Every few minutes, the Chilean team would ask people surrounding the operation to turn off their cell phones and stay quiet so that it would not interfere with the sounds being detected by their instruments.

"These [signs of breathing and pulse] along with the temperature sensor means there is a possibility of life," said rescue worker Eddy Bitar at the scene.

Reporting from the scene, DW's Razan Salman said people gathered nearby "are waiting impatiently for a glimmer of hope to shimmer from the devastated area."

Read more: Will protests after Beirut blast bring reform to Lebanon?

Youssef Malah, a civil defense worker, said the rescue teams would continue searching throughout the night, but noted that the work was extremely sensitive.

"Ninety-nine percent there isn't anything, but even if there is less than 1% hope, we should keep on looking," Malah told the Associated Press.

The blast on August 4 killed at least 190 people and injured thousands across the city.

kbd/dj (Reuters, AFP, AP)