Beirut: A large fire erupted on Thursday at Beirut Sea port, sending a huge cloud of smoke above the city, just a more after a massive blast that devastated the Beirut seaport and surrounding residential area of the Lebanese capital.

The cloud of fire and smoke erupted in the devasted duty free zone of the port and one official said it was limited to that area.

The army official said a store of oil and tyres had exploded into flames, although it said the reason for this was not immediately clear.

Television footage showed an army helicopter dumping water on the fire to extinguish, as firefighters battled the blaze on the ground.

The head of civil defense told Lebanon’s AlJadeed television it was not certain what materials were burning. But he urged the public to stay calm, saying the fire was limited to one place.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, but some residents drove out of the city, still traumatized by the Aug. 4 blast that killed about 190 people and injured 6,000.

The head of Lebanon’s Red Cross, George Kettaneh, said there was no fear of another explosion as a result of Thursday’s fire and there were no injuries, although he said there were some people suffering from shortness of breath as a result.

Firefighters were shown in television footage dousing the fire surrounded by mangled remains of warehouses destroyed in last month’s explosion, which was caused by a store of ammonium nitrate that had been kept in poor condition at the port.

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