At least 70 people were killed and over 2,000 injured following a powerful explosion that ripped through Lebanon’s capital Beirut on Tuesday, local media reported.
The country’s health minister Hamad Hassan said that the death toll in the blast has reached 73 and that 2,750 are wounded in the massive explosion, which shattered buildings and caused widespread damage.
Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab in a televised address to the county warned that those who were responsible for the devastating catastrophe will be held accountable and not go unpunished.
«What happened today will not fly by without accountability. All those responsible for this catastrophe will pay the price. This is a promise I make to martyrs and injured. This is a national commitment,» Diab said.
Lebanon’s interior minister Mohammed Fahmi was quoted by Al Jazeera saying the explosion was apparently caused by ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse at the port.
La Agencia Nacional de Noticias del Líbano también informó que un almacén en el puerto de Beirut atascó la chimenea y las explosiones primarias, que se derramaron en la capital y los suburbios y causaron graves daños a los edificios circundantes y una gran cantidad de heridos.
Prime Minister Hassan Diab in his address said that currently his government was focussed on handling the disaster and treating the wounded but said facts will soon be put out about the «dangerous warehouse that has been in existence for six years, since 2014.»
«Cooperaremos con la responsabilidad, y le insto a unirse para sanar las heridas de la nación», dijo el primer ministro.
Indian envoy to Lebanon Suhel Ajaz Khan said,»All our embassy staff are safe. We are in touch with Indian community members, so far there is no report of casualty. We are keeping a close watch and are in touch with community organisations. There is lot of damage to buildings in central Beirut.»
The Embassy has also shared its helpline numbers with the Indian community.
RELOJ: la explosión de Beirut mata a más de 70
Explosions were heard over several kilometres away from the blast, which resulted in a large mushroom-like cloud above the country and blast was even felt as far away in Cyprus, as per reports.
The blast was caught on video by several people and dramatic footage of the explosion was shared on social media, eliciting reactions from users across the world.
Among the buildings which suffered damage, including headquarters of Lebanon’s prime minister as well as the Baabda Palace, the residence of the president of Lebanon.
Con un montón de otras personas hospitalizadas como resultado de la gran explosión, los hospitales de Beirut sufren de hacinamiento, dijo el ministro de Salud, Hassan.
«Hospitals in Beirut are overcrowded. The injured should be taken to hospitals outside of Beirut,» Hassan said, as quoted by the Al Jazeera broadcaster.
Los líderes mundiales expresaron sus condolencias por el incidente.
United States President Donald Trump said that the explosion in Lebanon’s capital looks like a «terrible attack.»
«Looks like a terrible attack,» Trump told reporters at the White House.
«Permítanme comenzar enviando las más sinceras condolencias de Estados Unidos a las otras personas libanesas, donde los informes implican que muchas otras personas han sido asesinadas, muchas más han resultado gravemente heridas en una explosión gigante en Beirut», dijo Trump en una conferencia de prensa.
«Nuestras oraciones pasan a todos los enfermos y sus familias. Estados Unidos está en condiciones de ayudar al Líbano», dijo.
Trump dijo que el país tiene «relaciones muy inteligentes con otras personas libanesas y que estaremos allí para ayudar».
El presidente ruso, Vladimir Putin, expresó sus condolencias al presidente libanés, Michel Aoun, por la pérdida masiva y la destrucción causadas por la explosión, dijo el Kremlin.
El ministro de Relaciones Exteriores iraní, Javad Zarif, dijo que su país está en condiciones de proporcionar la ayuda obligatoria de todos modos.
«Nuestra mente y nuestras oraciones están con las maravillosas y resistentes personas de Líbano. Como siempre, Irán está completamente listo para echar una mano de la forma que sea necesaria. Mantente fuerte, Líbano», tuiteó Zarif. breve explosión, cinco minutos después, surgió humo blanco y negro, luego se produjo una fuerte explosión, arrojando una espesa corriente de humo rojo en el aire.