Huge explosions rock Lebanon’s capital Beirut, injuring more than 3000 people
At least 30 people have been killed and 3,000 injured in catastrophic explosions in Beirut and the numbers are expected to further rise.
The blasts flattened much of the port of Beirut, damaging buildings and blowing out windows and doors miles away.
Beirut City Governor Marwan Aboud called the blast a “national disaster akin to Hiroshima” and that said “Beirut is a disaster city and the scale of the damage is enormous”.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab declared that Wednesday will be a national day of mourning for the victims of the explosion while President Michel Aoun called an emergency meeting of the National Defense Council.
“I promise you this catastrophe will not pass without accountability. The people who are responsible will pay a price,” PM Diab said.
Reports claim that the explosion was apparently caused by highly explosive material that was stored in a warehouse.
Witnesses likened the huge blast it to a ‘nuclear bomb’. A local Fady Roumieh who was around 2km east of the blast, when the explosion occurred, 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.”
One eyewitness described the scenes as “like an apocalypse.”