Two gigantic explosions have ripped through Beirut, the capital of Lebanon on Tuesday as hundreds are wounded and at least 70+ are reported dead. Videos of both the blast show shattered glass buildings and massive fumes of smoke in the Beirut coastal skyline. However, the cause of the explosion was not immediately clear.
Video footage of the incident is going viral on the internet with people urging the world to “Pray for Lebanon”. The video shows a large column of smoke billowing from an area of the port that houses large warehouses before an enormous orange fireball sent a tornado-like a shockwave through the city.
Take a look at the Lebanon blast video here:
According to reports from Al Jazeera, the captain of an Italian ship, the Orient Queen which was posted near the explosive site received a huge blow. Helicopters circling the port area were trying to extinguish a large fire while several people on board were wounded and taken to hospital, he said.
“We heard an explosion, then we saw the mushroom,” said one resident who witnessed the second, deafening explosion from her balcony in the city’s Mansourieh district.
“I can’t believe I’m still alive,” Nada Hamza, a Beirut resident, told an AFP correspondent.
Another video from the explosion shows the complete wreckage of the Beirut port. The noise of the blast was heard 145 miles till Cyprus.
Take a look at the video here:
The port of #Beirut has been completely destroyed in today’s massive explosion. This is #Lebanon’s main economic lifeline.
The economic crisis in our country – already worsened by US sanctions – is about to get much worse. pic.twitter.com/vxycOYVrCm
— Sarah Abdallah (@sahouraxo) August 4, 2020
Online footage from a Lebanese newspaper office showed blown-out windows, doors lying unhinged, scattered furniture, and demolished interior paneling. Meanwhile, the injured were walking on the street while outside the Clemenceau Medical Centre, dozens of wounded people, many covered in blood, we’re rushing to be admitted to the center, including children.
The Lebanon blast came at a time when the country is already dealing with the worst economic crisis in decades. The economy has plummeted leaving more than of its citizen in poverty. Lebanon is also dealing with the tension on the Israeli front which adds to its list of worries.
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