A large blast has hit the Lebanese capital, Beirut, causing widespread damage and injuring many people, officials say.
It is not yet clear what caused the explosion in the port area of the city. Video posted online showed a large mushroom cloud and destroyed buildings.
Hospitals are said to be overwhelmed by casualties.
It comes at a sensitive time with the country’s economic collapse reigniting old tensions.
Tensions are also high ahead of the verdict in a trial over the killing of ex-PM Rafik Hariri in 2005. A UN tribunal is due to issue its verdict in the trial of four suspects in the murder by car bomb of Hariri on Friday.
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Lebanon’s health minister, Hamad Hasan, has spoken of many injuries and extensive damage.
Reuters news agency quotes sources as saying 10 bodies have been pulled from the wreckage.
Local media showed people trapped beneath rubble. A witness described the first explosion as deafening. Video footage showed wrecked cars and blast-damaged buildings.
The latest reports come amid political tension in Lebanon, with street demonstrations against the government’s handling the worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.
There has also been tension on the border with Israel, which said last week that it had thwarted an attempt by Hezbollah to infiltrate Israeli territory.
As posted in the other thread, A Fireworks Factory went up*.
No statement on whether an accident or not as yet, but looks likely.
Fair blast regardless.
*Now not Fireworks, … a fire started, there were firework type projectiles for a bit, & then boom.
Omg, that is just horrible to watch.
Da fuq. Looks straight out of T2 Judgment Day. Wow.
“fireworks” is what the Lebanese Government is saying.
They should at least tell the truth that it was a missile factory, fireworks don’t explode like that.
Lebanon is a bit of mess atm, only 2 hours of electricity a day, food shortages, riots, they have very little money to run the place.
This will not help.
Looks just like the chinese “fireworks” factory that exploded last year. That was an even bigger explosion.
■■■■. I was like, oh not much. Then the second explosion came and I nearly fell off the dunny! Surely that’s not fireworks!
Unless it was built next to a nitrate warehouse
Mental.
Far-out! That was massive.
Look for the ripple(s) running across the surface of the water.
Crazy amount of force in the shockwave.
Pretty sure it blew out this car’s windows and knocked the rear view mirror loose!
Reporting there was 2700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate being stored in the factory!
That’ll do it
If thats the case could be more to come.
The casualties must be immense. You’d at least hope death would be near instantaneous in something like that.
My God.
I was there mid-late June last year with my family. We stayed at the Ramada Downtown Beirut which is not far at all from the Port area where the explosion has happened.
We had such a great time my youngest daughter said she didn’t want to leave as we sat in the van on the way back to to the airport on the way to Sicily where we had an equally wonderful time based in Siracusa.
Those videos seem to show fireworks going off before a massive explosion that looks like some sort of nuclear explosion you’d see in a movie.
Hopefully, the world can unite - even during a pandemic - to assist a country that needs help now more than ever.
Paging Paz and a little bit of water. Stat!
It’s basically a Timothy McVeigh bomb. Juiced up on nuclear grade steroids.
If that’s a populated part of town then the death toll will be horrific.