A massive explosion in the Lebanese capital of Beirut has killed at least 10 people, left hundreds more injured and ripped through much of the city including the home of the former prime minister.
The Future Movement Party confirmed that ex-PM Saad Hariri is safe, but the country’s health minister said the blasts had caused a ‘very high number of injuries’ and huge damage.
Medical sources told Reuters that at least 10 people been killed by the explosion, yet the death toll is expected to be significantly higher when later confirmed by officials.
Beirut’s Hotel Dieu Hospital was reported to be treating more than 500 wounded patients and not able to receive more, while Lebanon’s Red Cross said it had been drowning in calls from injured people, many who are still trapped in their homes.
The explosion happened at around 6pm local time at the city’s port, where warehouses are believed to contain explosive materials.
Dramatic footage shows smoke billowing from the port area shortly before an enormous fireball explodes into the sky and blankets the city in a thick mushroom cloud.
Witnesses have stressed the sheer enormity of the blast, which was reportedly heard in Cyprus, and likened it to a ‘nuclear bomb’.
It obliterated the immediate surrounding buildings, where firefighters were still battling flames this evening, and even wreaked havoc on districts miles away from the blast site.
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.’
Pointing to what appears to be fireworks shooting out of the smoke, experts said a combination of fireworks and highly flammable fertiliser could have sparked such an explosion.
Prime Minister Hasan Diab has declared Wednesday a day of mourning, and President Michel Aoun called for ‘urgent’ defence council talks.
A massive explosion has rocked Beirut this afternoon destroying buildings and sending a huge fireball into the sky
Dramatic footage shows smoke billowing from the port area shortly before an enormous fireball explodes into the sky and blankets the city in a thick mushroom cloud
It lay waste to the immediate surrounding buildings, where firefighters were still battling flames this evening, and even wreaked havoc on districts miles away from the blast site
Israel has denied any involvement amid escalating tensions with the militant group Hezbollah along the country’s southern border.
It comes just days before a United Nations tribunal is set to rule on the assassination of the country’s former PM Rafik Hariri, Saad’s father.
The Middle Eastern country is passing through its worst economic and financial crisis in decades and has seen demonstrations.
Miles from the scene of the blast – which people in Cyprus even claimed to have heard – balconies were knocked down, ceiling collapsed and windows were shattered.
Beirut’s main airport – six miles away from the port – was reportedly damaged by the explosion, with pictures showing sections of collapsed ceiling.
The city’s governor told journalists he does not know the cause of the explosion and said he had never seen such destruction, comparing the sobering scenes to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which were obliterated by atomic bombs in the Second World War.
Local Fady Roumieh was stood in the car park to shopping centre ABC Mall Achrafieh, around 2km east of the blast, when the explosion occurred.
He said: ‘It was like a nuclear bomb. The damage is so widespread and severe all over the city. Some buildings as far as 2km are partially collapsed. It’s like a war zone. The damage is extreme. Not one glass window intact.’
One witness said: ‘I saw a fireball and smoke billowing over Beirut. People were screaming and running, bleeding. Balconies were blown off buildings. Glass in high-rise buildings shattered and fell to the street.’
A general view of the harbor area with smoke billowing from an area of a large explosion, with damage and debris after a large explosion rocked the harbor area of Beirut
Harrowing scene pictures show injured people walking from the debris, which was sprayed over the streets of Beirut
An injured man is seen in Beirut following the explosion
A man reacts at the scene of an explosion at the port in Lebanon’s capital Beirut on August 4
Pictures shows the scene of an explosion at the port in the Lebanese capital Beirut, which lay waste to surrounding buildings
Firefighters spray water at a fire after an explosion was heard in Beirut
Another witness said she saw heavy grey smoke near the port area and then heard an explosion and saw flames of fire and black smoke.
They said: ‘All the downtown area windows are smashed and there are wounded people walking around. It is total chaos.’
‘Buildings are shaking,’ tweeted one resident, while another wrote: ‘An enormous, deafening explosion just engulfed Beirut. Heard it from miles away’.
Online footage from a Lebanese newspaper office showed blown out windows, scattered furniture and demolished interior panelling.
It comes amid political tension in Lebanon, with street demonstrations against the government’s handling the worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.
Late last year investigators revealed what was effectively a state-sponsored pyramid scheme being run by the central bank, which was borrowing from commercial banks at above-market interest rates to pay back its debts and maintain the Lebanese pound’s fixed exchange rate with the US dollar.
A car if left flipped on its roof on a motorway as a result of the devastating impact of the explosion earlier today
A mobile phone image showing a general view of the harbor area with smoke billowing from an area of a large exoplosion, with damage and debris after a large explosion rocked the harbor area of Beirut
People on the street in Beirue which is strewn with debris from damaged buildings following the explosion
The loud blast in Beirut’s port area was felt across large parts of the city and some districts lost electricity
The health minister told Reuters there was a “very high number” of injured. Al Mayadeen TV said hundreds were wounded
Witnesses have reported bystanders injured by falling debris from buildings and shards of glass flying towards people after the shockwave smashed out windows
In January mass protests against the corruption allegations and a faltering economy led to the fall of Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s government.
His predecessor , Independent Hassan Diab, cut the country’s budget by $700million and put in place a financial rescue plan a month later.
But Lebanon’s problems have persisted after the Covid-19 pandemic forced global border closures, and protests have returned after the Lebanese pound fell in value, despite a lockdown being imposed in March.
Many businesses have been forced to close, but as prices continue to rise with a devalued currency some are struggling to buy basic necessities, and the prime minister warned that Lebanon was at risk of a ‘major food crisis’.
Analysts suggest the crisis has been prolonged because of political sectarianism, with the president, prime minister and speaker split between the three largest cultural groups; Christians; Shia Muslim; and Sunni Muslims.
Parliament is also drawn down the middle between Christian and Muslim members.
With the country’s governance in need of unity between the competing groups, external powers have been able to interfere in the country. Iran, for instance, backs the militant Hezbollah Shia movement.
Dramatic footage on social media shows people screaming as an enormous blast rocks the waterside area of Lebanon’s capital city
A wounded man walks near the scene of an explosion in Beirut
A large explosion rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut today. The blast, which rattled entire buildings and broke glass, was felt in several parts of the city