A catastrophic explosion in Lebanon's capital of Beirut was caught on video as a smaller explosion and subsequent fire that broke out at the city's port warehouse district, the smoke visible for miles, turned into a blast wave that absolutely devastated the city earlier today.
At least two explosions in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, resulted in widespread damage and injuries on Tuesday, throwing a country already mired in political and financial distress into further chaos.
Videos posted on social media show massive blasts near Beirut’s port, one of the busiest in the Eastern Mediterranean. A top Lebanese Red Cross official reported at least “hundreds” of casualties, including those dead and wounded.
Lebanon’s general security chief, Abbas Ibrahim, told local reporters that the initial explosion was not a bombing. He said it was caused by a fire in a warehouse that had been storing “confiscated highly explosive materials.”
Initial reports from Lebanese state-run media said the fire had broken out in a facility storing fireworks, but Ibrahim dismissed that theory.
According to the country’s health minister, the blast left scores of casualties and inflicted severe damage on the city.
“I have never in my life seen disaster this big, this grand, this catastrophic,” said Beirut’s governor, Marwan Abboud, before he broke down crying. “This is a national catastrophe. This a disaster for Lebanon. We don’t know how we’re going to recover from this. … We need to stay strong and we need to be courageous, but this, our people have been through so much.”
Lebanese Prime Minister Hassam Diab has declared Wednesday a national day of mourning.
— Afif Tabish 🇱🇧🇨🇦 (@afif) August 4, 2020
More as the story develops...
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