A huge explosion near the centre of Beirut has reported killing over 70 people and sent shock waves across the capital city of Lebanon, shattering glass and collapsing apartment balconies, witness and security officials said.
The blast was located in the port are of the city, where the warehouses housing explosives stored, Lebanon’s state agency said.
The clip of the blast was shared wildly on social media filmed by the residents. Those who were filming could be seen thrown backward due to the explosion’s shock wave.
About 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate were stored in the Beirut port warehouse that exploded Tuesday, devastating large parts of the Lebanese capital, Prime Minister Hassan Diab said.
“It is unacceptable that a shipment of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate has been present for six years in a warehouse, without taking preventive measures,” he said at a defence council meeting, a spokesman told a press conference.
“It is unacceptable and we cannot remain silent on this issue.”
More htan 70 people were killed and 3000 were injured, with the bodies buried in debris, officials said.
The resident and witnesses claimed that they heard aeroplane and saw something falling from sky before the blast. “We heard a plane, then an explosion, like the ones we used to hear in 2006 Israeli war,” a Lebanese woman told Gulf News.
Israel denied any connection to the explosions. An Israeli official told media: “Israel has nothing to do with the blast in Beirut.”
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