At least 100 people are killed and thousands hurt as 'welder' at Beirut port sparks fire near warehouse where 2,700 TONS of highly explosive chemical 'seized from a ship' were being stored detonating blast the size of a small nuclear bomb
One of the world's biggest-ever peacetime explosions tore through the port in Beirut last night, killing at least 100 people, injuring thousands more and laying waste to a large part of the Lebanese capital.
More than 2,750 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate, the main ingredient in fertilizer bombs, detonated when a fire apparently sparked by a welder spread to the warehouse where it had been stored for six years.
Apocalyptic scenes saw a thick red-orange mushroom cloud envelop streets surrounding the port, where buildings burned and emergency crews frantically searched the rubble for survivors.
Damaged hospitals were last night creaking under the strain of more than 4,000 casualties wounded by the blast, which was even heard 125 miles away in Cyprus.
Rescuers worked through the night into Wednesday morning in a country already reeling from its worst economic crisis in decades.
Residents of Beirut awoke to a scene of devastation this morning with smoke still rising from the port, where a towering grain silo was shattered. Major downtown streets were littered with debris and damaged vehicles, and building facades were blown out.
The head of Lebanon's Red Cross said: 'What we are witnessing is a huge catastrophe. There are victims and casualties everywhere.'
In a statement released this morning the humanitarian agency said that more than 100 people had lost their lives.
Prime Minister Hassan Diab has vowed those responsible will 'pay the price' and plunged the country into a two-week state of emergency.
The United States, the UK, France, the Gulf states and even bitter rivals Israel have offered aid to the country, which is already grappling with twin economic and coronavirus crises.
Witnesses likened the explosion to a nuclear detonation, and scientists making initial calculations said the 2,750 tonnes of hazardous chemicals produced a blast equivalent to about three kilotons of TNT - roughly a fifth the force of the Little Boy atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in the Second World War.
President Michel Aoun declared three days of mourning, and announced he would release 100 billion lira ($66 million) of emergency funds.
General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim earlier said the 'highly explosive material' had been confiscated years earlier, reportedly from a ship.
President Donald Trump last night called the explosion a 'terrible attack' and said US generals had told him it appeared to have been caused by a 'bomb of some kind', without offering evidence.
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
Wounded people are treated at a hospital following the explosion, which has left hundreds of casualties in Beirut last night
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
A Lebanese army helicopter flies over the site of the blast in Beirut's port area on Wednesday morning as smoke still rises from the rubble
A view of the damages after an explosion at the Beirut Port yesterday evening. Witnesses have stressed the sheer enormity of the blast, which was heard 125 miles away in Cyprus, and likened it to a 'nuclear bomb'
A destroyed facade of a building is seen following the blast on Tuesday. Rescuers worked throughout the night to find people amid the devastation
Police and forensic officers work at the scene of an explosion on Wednesday morning and rescuers continue to look for survivors
The aftermath this morning of the destroyed port. Prime Minister Hassan Diab has vowed those responsible will 'pay the price' and plunged the country into a two-week state of emergency
Fires continue to burn at the industrial port late into the night in Beirut following the deadly blasts
Medics shift an injured person from Najjar Hospital to another hospital in Al-Hamra area in Beirut after several hospitals were damaged in the blast
Lebanese army soldier runs at the scene of an explosion at Beirut's port
The U.S. embassy in Beirut warned residents in the city about reports of toxic gases released by the blast, urging people to stay indoors and wear masks if available.
Critical infrastructure was affected by the blast, including the port, the airport and hospitals.
Firefighters had already been on the scene dealing with an initial blaze when the explosion took place. One security source told Reuters today that the initial fire was caused during welding work on a hole in a warehouse wall.
That fire spread, and before firefighters could control it, apparently detonated the ammonium nitrate.
One Israeli bomb expert suggested fireworks could have been involved in the initial blaze.
Explosives certification expert Boaz Hayoun said: 'Before the big explosion ... in the center of the fire, you can see sparks, you can hear sounds like popcorn and you can hear whistles. This is very specific behavior of fireworks.'
After the second, more devastating explosion, images showed port buildings reduced to tangled masonry, devastating the main entry point to a country that relies on food imports to feed its population of more than six million.
Charbel Haj, who works at the harbour, said the explosion started as small explosions like firecrackers before he was suddenly thrown off his feet by the huge blast.
The explosion damaged the Roum Hospital, which put out a call for people to bring it spare generators to keep its electricity going as it evacuated patients because of heavy damage.
Outside the St George University Hospital in Beirut's Achrafieh neighbuorhood, people with various injuries arrived in ambulances, in cars and on foot.
The explosion had caused major damage inside the building and knocked out the electricity at the hospital. Dozens of injured were being treated on the spot on the street outside, on stretchers and wheelchairs.
Lebanon's Red Cross said it had been drowning in calls from injured people, many who are still trapped in their homes.
Miles from the scene of the blast, 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.
Beirut'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.
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.'
A soldier at the port, where relatives of the missing scrambled for news of their loved ones, said: 'It's a catastrophe inside. There are corpses on the ground. Ambulances are still lifting the dead.'
A woman in her twenties stood screaming at security forces, asking about the fate of her brother, a port employee.
'His name is Jad, his eyes are green,' she pleaded, to no avail as officers refused her entry.
'It was like an atomic bomb,' said Makrouhie Yerganian, a retired schoolteacher in her mid-70s who has lived near the port for decades.
'I've experienced everything, but nothing like this before,' even during the country's 1975-1990 civil war, she said.
'All the buildings around here have collapsed.'
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.'
Rami Rifai, a 38-year-old engineer,from a hospital where his two daughters were receiving treatment after sustaining cuts despite being half a kilometre from the seat of the blast said: 'We've had some dark days in Lebanon over the years but this is something else.
'We already had the economic crisis, a government of thieves and coronavirus. I didn't think it could get worse but now I don't know if this country can get up again. Everyone is going to try to leave. I will try to leave,' he said, his voice choked by tears.
One resident of Mar Mikhail, one of the most affected neighbourhoods, said she saw bodies strewn in the middle of the street, apparently thrown off balconies and rooftops by the blast.
For a long time after the blast, ambulance sirens sounded across the city and helicopters hovered above.
Residents said glass was broken in houses from Raouche, on the Mediterranean city's western tip, to Rabieh 10 km (6 miles) east).
And in Cyprus, a Mediterranean island lying 110 miles (180 km) northwest of Beirut, residents reported hearing two large bangs in quick succession.
One resident of the capital Nicosia said his house shook, rattling shutters.
'We do not have information about what has happened precisely, what has caused this, whether its accidental or manmade act,' he said.
Condolences poured in from across the world with Gulf nations, the United States and even Lebanon's arch foe Israel offering to send aid. France also promised to send assistance.
The blast revived memories of a 1975-90 civil war and its aftermath, when Lebanese endured heavy shelling, car bombings and Israeli air raids. Some residents thought an earthquake had struck.
'The blast blew me off metres away. I was in a daze and was all covered in blood. It brought back the vision of another explosion I witnessed against the U.S. embassy in 1983,' said Huda Baroudi, a Beirut designer.
Footage shows a thick column of smoke rising from the port before an explosion sends a fireball into the sky
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
Lebanese firefighters work at the scene of explosion at the Beirut Port, Beirut following the huge explosion yesterday evening
An injured man covered in blood is seen in Beirut following the explosion in Beirut on Tuesday
A man reacts at the scene of an explosion at the port in Lebanon's capital Beirut on August 4
Glass is shattered by the explosion at the Cavalier Hotel in Beirut following the explosion
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
UN chief Antonio Guterres expressed his 'deepest condolences ... following the horrific explosions in Beirut' which he said had also injured some United Nations personnel.
Boris Johnson offered to help the crisis-hit country, tweeting: 'The pictures and videos from Beirut tonight are shocking.
'All of my thoughts and prayers are with those caught up in this terrible incident. The UK is ready to provide support in any way we can, including to those British nationals affected.'
The UK Foreign Office has said a few of its embassy staff sustained non-life threatening injuries in the blast.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said in a tweet: 'The images of explosions in Beirut are deeply worrying. Our thoughts are with those affected, the emergency services and the people of Lebanon.'
Offers of aid also came from bitter rivals Israel, with which it is still technically at war.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, on behalf of the State of Israel, have offered the Lebanese government - via international intermediaries - medical and humanitarian aid, as well as immediate emergency assistance,' said a joint statement from the two ministries.
Last week, Israel accused the Lebanese group Hezbollah of trying to send gunmen across the UN-demarcated Blue Line and said it held the Lebanese government responsible for what it termed an attempted 'terrorist' attack.
Hezbollah said all of the country's political powers must unite to overcome the 'painful catastrophe'.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that France stood 'alongside Lebanon' and was ready to help, tweeting: 'France stands and will always stand by the side of Lebanon and the Lebanese. It is ready to provide assistance according to the needs expressed by the Lebanese authorities.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted: 'We are monitoring and stand ready to assist the people of Lebanon as they recover from this horrible tragedy.'
Iran's foreign minister has said it is standing by to help Lebanon recover from the fallout of the explosion.
Countries in the Gulf paid tribute to victims of the explosion as Qatar said it would send field hospitals to support Lebanon's medical response.
Qatar's ruler Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani called President Michel Aoun to offer condolences, according to the state-run Qatar News Agency.
Sheikh Tamim wished 'a speedy recovery for the injured,' adding that he 'expressed Qatar's solidarity with brotherly Lebanon and its willingness to provide all kinds of assistance'.
Buildings and cars are partially destroyed in the neighbourhood of Mar Mikhael following an explosion at the port of Beirut last night
Firefighters douse a blaze at the city's port tonight following the deadly explosion which has wreaked devestation on Beirut
Smoke billows from harbor area with damage and debris after a large explosion rocked the harbor of Beirut
The thick plume of smoke looms over the city of Beirut on Tuesday evening after the explosion at the port
A view shows the damages entrance of a store in Burj Abu Haidar area in Beirut
Elsewhere in the Gulf, the United Arab Emirates' Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash tweeted that 'our hearts are with Beirut and its people'.
He posted the tribute alongside an image of Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, illuminated in the colours of the Lebanese flag.
'Our prayers during these difficult hours are that God... protects brotherly Lebanon and the Lebanese to reduce their affliction and heal their wounds,' he wrote.
Gulf countries including Qatar and the UAE maintain close ties with Beirut and have long provided financial aid and diplomatic assistance to mediate Lebanon's political and sectarian divisions.
Bahrain's foreign ministry urged its nationals in Lebanon to contact the ministry's operations centre or Manama's representative in Beirut, while Kuwait ordered its citizens to take extreme caution and stay indoors.
It comes just days before a United Nations tribunal is set to rule on the assassination of the country's former PM Rafik Hariri.
The house of his son, Saad Hariri, who also led the country, was damaged by the blast but he was confirmed safe.
Save the Children said in a statement that members of their team on the ground in the city have reported entire streets destroyed and children unaccounted for.
Despite the charity's offices in the city being badly damaged, they have pledged that a rapid response team is ready to offer support.
Jad Sakr, Save the Children's country director in Lebanon, said: 'We are shocked and devastated by the explosion today.
'The death toll may not be known for several days but we do know is that in a disaster like this, children may be hurt, shocked and separated from their parents.
'Our child protection teams are ready to support the government's efforts, which will almost certainly go on for several days to come.
'It is vital that children and their families get access to the services they urgently need, including medical care and physical and emotional protection.'
He added: 'The incident could not have occurred at a worst time and has hit communities who were already suffering from the impact of the Covid-19 crisis and the economic deterioration.
'Beirut's main port, now completely damaged, is vital for much of the food, grains and fuel that Lebanon imports, and families will immediately feel the shortage in basic needs as a result of this tragedy.'
Lebanese President Michel Aoun holds a High Defence Council meeting at the Baabda Palace following the blast
A car if left flipped on its roof on a motorway as a result of the devastating impact of the explosion yesterday
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
A wounded man walks near the scene of an explosion in Beirut
A large explosion rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut last night. The blast, which rattled entire buildings and broke glass, was felt in several parts of the city
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