2,750 tonne ammonium nitrate caused blast at port warehouses in Beirut
BEIRUT, August 5
Lebanese rescue workers dug through the mangled wreckage of buildings on Wednesday looking for survivors after a massive warehouse explosion sent a devastating blast wave across Beirut, killing at least 135 persons and injuring nearly 5,000.
Officials said the toll was expected to rise after Tuesday’s blast at port warehouses that stored highly explosive material.
Shocked and saddened by the large explosion in Beirut city leading to loss of life and property. Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families and the injured.
The blast was the most powerful ever to rip through Beirut, a city still scarred by civil war three decades ago and reeling from an economic meltdown and a surge in Covid infections.
It sent a mushroom cloud into the sky and rattled windows on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, about 100 milesaway. President Michel Aoun said 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive chemical used in fertilisers and bombs, had been stored for six years at the port without safety measures. An official source blamed the incident on negligence. — Reuters
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