At least two massive explosions erupted in the Beirut on Tuesday, causing massive casualties and damages.
Footage from the scene posted on social media shows significant damage and smoke rising above the city.
According to al-Jadeed TV, Lebanese Health Minister, Hamad Hassan has said that more than 78 people were killed and 2,500 others were injured in the blasts.
“It is a disaster in every sense of the word,” Hassan said in an interview with several television channels while visiting a hospital in the Lebanese capital.
The larger explosion occurred around 6pm local time at the city’s port, where warehouses are believed to contain explosive materials.
The governor of Beirut, Marwan Abboud, speaking on television, could not say what had caused the explosion.
Breaking into tears, Abboud called it a national catastrophe.
Beirut’s Hotel Dieu Hospital is said to have admitted more than 500 wounded patients and no longer receiving more, while Lebanon’s Red Cross confirmed many others were still trapped in their homes.
General Security chief, Abbas Ibrahim said;
“It appears that there is a warehouse containing material that was confiscated years ago, and it appears that it was highly explosive material.”
Prime Minister, Hasan Diab has declared Wednesday, August 5, a day of mourning, and President Michel Aoun called for ‘urgent’ defence council talks.
Israel has denied any involvement amid escalating tensions with the militant group Hezbollah along the country’s southern border.
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Watch the video clips below:
Video showing hangars on fire before the explosion at the Beirut Port#إنفجار_بيروت pic.twitter.com/ep9SBIBOJt
— Mohammad Hijazi (@mhijazi) August 4, 2020
Another video of the explosion at Beirut Port #إنفجار_بيروت pic.twitter.com/mg2BQ0uj3u
— Mohammad Hijazi (@mhijazi) August 4, 2020
