At Least 50 Dead, 2,700 Injured in Beirut After Massive Explosion Ruins Parts of Lebanon
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At least 50 people have died and 2,700 are injured following a massive explosion of firecrackers destroyed parts of Beirut, Lebanon on Tuesday, according to Lebanese health minister Hamad Hassan. The number of deaths has doubled since initial reports said 25 people had died from the impact.
The explosion, caught on camera throughout the city, was felt over 100 miles away. The bulk of Beirut’s buildings had shattered glass with structural damage that poured onto streets while images of broken cars and fires appeared online after videos surfaced of the blast.
Stunning video shows explosions just minutes ago at Beirut port pic.twitter.com/ZjltF0VcTr
— Borzou Daragahi ?? (@borzou) August 4, 2020
“It looks like what happened in Japan, in Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud said to reporters. “That’s what it reminds me of. I have never seen destruction on this scale in my life.”
Initially, the explosion was blamed on a major fire at a warehouse for firecrackers that set off a shock throughout the city. But its director of the general security directorate said after the fact that “high explosive materials” that were confiscated were to blame. Its still unclear the root of the explosion and what caused a fire to begin.
The death and injury toll is still expected to rise as fire fighters go through rubble within the city.
