Lebanese Health Minister Hassan Hamad has said at least 25 people have been killed and more than 2,500 wounded in the massive explosion at Beirut port.
The explosion released a shockwave causing widespread damage to buildings and shattering windows in different parts of the city. As at press time, the cause of the explosion was still yet unknown.
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According to Lebanese Red Cross, more than 2,200 people have been injured and that the numbers are likely to rise, local broadcasters have reported.
Among the dead is the Secretary General of the Lebanese Kataeb Party, the party announced.
The headquarters of the Kataeb Party, one of the oldest parties in the country, is located right next to the port.
Al Jazeera’s reporter, Timour Azhari stated that;
Dozens of people are trying to enter a hospital in Beirut and are being turned away. People are discussing about which hospital they can get to across the city. This hospital, the Hotel-Dieu hospital has formally announced that people should stop coming here.
He added;
There are corridors lined with wounded, bloody people. There are people crying. The hospital itself has sustained damage; its ceiling looks very precarious, it looks like it’s going to fall apart.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun has now called for an emergency meeting of the country’s Supreme Defence Council, while Prime Minister Hassan Diab called for a day of mourning on Wednesday.
He announced that his ministry would cover the costs of treating the wounded at hospitals, adding that the decision covered both hospitals that have contracts with the ministry as well as those that do not.
According to Lebanese Interior Minister, Mohammed Fahmi, the ammonium nitrate was stored in the port, which is what caused the explosion, local media reported.
Speaking, Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, the head of Lebanon’s general security service stated that the highly explosive materials were seized by the government years ago and stored at the port.
He did not say what those materials were for or why they were stored there but he warned against getting “ahead of the investigation” and speculation that it is a terrorist act.
See some photos below;
