Mozambique firm 'ordered Beirut ammonium nitrate'

By Jose Tembe

A Portuguese-linked firm in Mozambique ordered the 2.7 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that caused the devastating explosion in Lebanon, capital, Beirut, last week, Mozambican media have quoted an unnamed source in the company as saying.

Fabrica de Explosivos de Mocambique (FEM) had made a “normal order”, which complied with legal requirements, the source was reported to have said.

Mozambique's transport ministry has previously denied knowledge of the order.

The order had been placed with a Georgian firm in 2013, and the ammonium nitrate was to have been shipped to the port in Beira in central Mozambique, the source added.

FEM is owned by a Portuguese firm Moura, Silva & Filhos.

It is unclear what the ammonium nitrate was to have been used for, but the firm's website says that it makes and supplies commercial explosives.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: EPA