UPDATE 1-Signs of life detected under rubble a month after Beirut blast, says rescuer

BEIRUT, Sept 3- Lebanese rescue workers detected signs of life on Thursday in the rubble of a building in a residential area of Beirut that had collapsed after a huge Aug. 4 explosion at the nearby port, a rescue worker said. He was speaking after the state news agency reported a team with a rescue dog had detected movement under a destroyed building in the Gemmayze…

BEIRUT, Sept 3 (Reuters) – Lebanese rescue workers detected

signs of life on Thursday in the rubble of a building in a

residential area of Beirut that had collapsed after a huge Aug.

4 explosion at the nearby port, a rescue worker said.

He was speaking after the state news agency reported a teamwith a rescue dog had detected movement under a destroyedbuilding in the Gemmayze area of Beirut, one of the worst hit bythe blast.

“These (signs of breathing and pulse) along with thetemperature sensor means there is a possibility of life,” rescueworker Eddy Bitar told reporters at the scene.

Rescue workers in bright jackets clambered over the buildingthat had collapsed in the blast, which killed about 190 peopleand injured 6,000 others.

The rescue team were setting up flood lights at the site asthe sun set. One rescue worker carried a rescue dog onto themound of smashed masonry.

Bitar said a civil defence unit had been called in to helpwith extra equipment to conduct the search.

Local media said any search and rescue effort, if it becameclear that someone was still alive, was likely to take hours.

(Reporting by Beirut bureau; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editingby Alexandra Hudson)