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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Oliver Holmes (now); Helen Sullivan and Rebecca Ratcliffe (earlier)

Death toll in Lebanese capital rises to 135 as about 5,000 people are wounded – as it happened

Closing Summary

We are closing this blog now. It has been an incredibly painful 24+ hours for Beirut, which remains in ruin and plunged into uncertainty.

Here are the main developments:

  • The Lebanese government has declared a two-week state of emergency after two huge explosions on Tuesday killed at least 135 people and injured around 5,000.
  • Prime Minister Hassan Diab said the cause of the explosion was 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a common industrial chemical used in fertiliser and as a component in mining explosives.
  • An initial investigation has reportedly found years of inaction and “negligence” around the removal of the ammonium nitrate is to blame for the blast.
  • The European Union has activated its civil protection system to round up emergency workers and equipment from member states. Governments worldwide have sent support, including Kuwait, Norway and Australia.
  • Beirut’s governor, Marwan Abboud, has said the damage from the port blast has extended over half of the city, with the cost of damage likely above $3bn.
  • Rescuers continue to search for victims who remain trapped under rubble. In one video shared on Wednesday, a search team can be heard clapping and cheering as a survivor is pulled to safety.
  • Residents, desperate to reach their loved ones, have been sharing pictures of missing relatives, as well as phone numbers online.
  • Hospitals, several of which were damaged in the blast, have been inundated with patients. In the Gemmayze district, medical teams were forced to triage patients in a car park, while the Red Cross said it is coordinating with the Lebanese health ministry to set up morgues.

Updated

A Russian plane carrying relief teams, doctors and medical equipment has landed in Beirut, according to the Associated Press.

The aircraft has delivered a mobile hospital along with 50 emergency workers and medical personnel, it said, citing Russia’s Ministry for Emergencies. Another three Russian flights are scheduled to arrive within the next 24 hours. They will carry equipment for a coronavirus testing lab and protective gear, among other relief supplies.

More details from my colleague, Jessica, on the UK aid:

The Foreign Office has released details of aid the British government will send to Lebanon, including up to £5m in emergency humanitarian funding, announced earlier by Dominic Raab, as well as deploying search and rescue experts with specially trained dogs to help find those caught up in the blast.

Raab, who spoke with prime minister Diab, said the UK would provide tailored medical help, strategic air transport assistance, and engineering and communications support. The UK offered to send an emergency clinical advisory team who could provide initial assessment and coordination with search and rescue teams.

“This was a devastating explosion which has caused enormous suffering and damage,” Raab said. “The UK is a long-standing friend of Lebanon and the Lebanese people, and will stand with them in their hour of need.”

It’s not just governments that are donating. In just over a day, this fundraiser has raised more than £3 million, and it is growing.

The page was set up by the not-for-profit, Impact Lebanon, which describes itself as a “social incubator for driven Lebanese around the world”.

Britain will transfer up to £5 million to Beirut and is “poised” to send search and rescue help and expert medical support, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has told reporters.

“Obviously we want to make sure we’ve got exactly what is tailored towards the Lebanese needs, that is why I’ve just spoken to the [Lebanese] prime minister,” he said. Raab added the number of UK nationals who had possibly been killed or injured in the explosion is yet to be known.

Cities around the world have been lighting up their buildings with the red, white and green colours of the Lebanese flag.

Here’s the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai:

City Hall in Belfast:

The Sheraton in Doha:

And even City Hall in Tel Aviv:

Here’s the statement from the tribunal.

It says the decision to delay was “out of respect for the countless victims of the devastating explosion that shook Beirut on 4 August, and the three-day of public mourning in Lebanon.”

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon has postponed a Friday verdict in the trial over the 2005 bombing that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

Now, the landmark ruling for four accused men will be delayed until 18 August, following the huge explosion in Beirut. It has been a source of immense friction in Lebanon.

What we know so far
  • The European Union has activated its civil protection system to round up emergency workers and equipment from member states. Governments worldwide have sent support, including Kuwait, Norway and Australia.
  • Beirut’s governor, Marwan Abboud, has said the damage from the port blast has extended over half of the city, with the cost of damage likely above $3bn.
  • Rescuers have continued to search for victims who remain trapped under rubble. In one video shared on Wednesday, a search team can be heard clapping and cheering as a survivor is pulled to safety.
  • Residents, desperate to reach their loved ones, are sharing pictures of missing relatives, as well as phone numbers online.
  • Hospitals, several of which were damaged in the blast, have been inundated with patients. In Gemmayze district, medical teams were forced to triage patients in a car park, while the Red Cross said it is coordinating with the Lebanese health ministry to set up morgues.
  • Aerial images from the scene of the explosion illustrate the impact of the blast, which destroyed crucial silos that contained around 85% of the country’s grain. Lebanon’s economy minister, Raoul Nehme, said the wheat in Beirut’s port granaries cannot be used and that the ministry lost track of seven employees in the granaries.

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has spoken with Prime Minister Hassan Diab, Washington said in a statement.

“Secretary Pompeo expressed his condolences to the Lebanese people for the horrible explosion at the Beirut port, which killed and injured so many and caused devastating destruction to the city,” it said.

“The Secretary reaffirmed our steadfast commitment to assist the Lebanese people as they cope with the aftermath of this terrifying event. Secretary Pompeo further stressed our solidarity with and support for the Lebanese people as they strive for the dignity, prosperity, and security they deserve.”

Updated

My colleague, Molly, has heard from a Beirut resident, who has given a distressing account of the minutes after the blast:

Timi, who was injured when the explosion wrecked the house she and her fiancé were inside, said the blast “was like a warzone movie”, and that she “really thought [she] was going to die”.

“We heard the first sonic boom - it was actually a smaller explosion but sounded like a sonic boom - and I knew something was deeply wrong,” she said. Timi, who lives in the Achrafieh district of Beirut, said she grabbed her fiancé seconds before “everything exploded around us”.

“We get blasted from the couch with glass and doors flying all around us. We were in an old Lebanese house next to hospital St George in Geitawi, the house was totalled,” she said. “I really thought I was going to die.”

Timi said she “huddled in the corner of the room”, which was covered with glass and blood, and began to pray. “I never pray, but I didn’t know what else to do to calm down,” she said.

“My fiancé’s mother was bleeding profusely, I also had gotten a cut on my arm from the broken glass. We were in complete shock and fear,” she said. “We wandered out of the house like lost ghosts. Going nowhere and mumbling and trembling, covered in dust and blood.

“It was unreal. It felt like I was in a bad dream where I was on mute and I couldn’t help anyone or myself,” Timi added. “Complete mental shock and disorientation. I didn’t take pictures because I was still under shock at the time, but at least we were overall ok (no major injuries). Some people were wounded very badly in the hospital. My heart goes out to them and their families.”

Updated

Death toll rises to 135 killed, around 5,000 wounded - Lebanese TV

Lebanese news channel, Al Manar TV, is quoting the country’s health minister as saying the toll has now risen, with tens of people still missing.

Updated

More and more shocking videos of the blast and its effects are coming in. BBC Arabic journalist, Maryem Taoumi, was filming an interview when the shockwave hit.

This video of a woman in Beirut playing Auld Lang Syne on the piano in her blasted-out living room is being circulated online.

The government has also approved the spending of 100bn Lebanese pounds to deal with the crisis. That is worth around $13m (nearly £10m) as the unofficial exchange rate has gone into a virtual freefall.

Updated

Lebanon declares two-week state of emergency in Beirut

The Lebanese government has declared a two-week state of emergency, effectively giving the military full powers in the capital.

The government announced the measure during a cabinet meeting, according to the Associated Press.

It confirmed earlier reports that the government was putting an unspecified number of Beirut port officials under house arrest pending an investigation into how 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate came to be stored at the port for years.

Updated

Here are two astonishing videos from the blast.

The first captures a priest ducking from what appears to be plummeting stained glass windows.

This one, meanwhile, shows a bride posing as the shockwave hits the area.

Our graphics team have worked up this excellent visual guide to give you an idea of the magnitude of the blast:

Another charity working in Lebanon, Islamic Relief, has warned that the country was already in a very precarious position before Tuesday’s blast.

“This is yet another tragedy for a country that is already deep in crisis on multiple fronts,” said Nidal Ali, the group’s Lebanon director.

“The economy is the worst it has been in decades, with nearly half the population living below the poverty line and 35% of people out of work. Many of Lebanon’s population are refugees who have struggled for a long time. But now even middle-class families have been fighting to put food on the table. For nearly a year, all people have been concerned with is, ‘how am I going to eat tomorrow?’”

He adds: “In October last year, we had to put all our long-term programmes on hold and prioritise food parcels as the economic crisis became a humanitarian emergency.

“This was all before the coronavirus pandemic brought the world to a standstill earlier this year. Lebanon has seen a spike in cases over recent weeks, and hospitals are overrun.”

Updated

Reuters is now reporting that Lebanon’s government has agreed to place all Beirut port officials who have overseen storage and security since 2014 under house arrest, citing ministerial sources.

Updated

The Lebanon representative for the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) has released a powerful statement on the blast.

“Our hearts are with children and families who have been impacted, especially those who lost their loved ones,” said Yukie Mokuo.

“Unicef’s team in Beirut has not been spared. One of our colleagues lost his spouse, seven of our staff were mildly injured and dozens of personnel’s homes were damaged. Most of our staff- as are most people in Lebanon- are in a state of shock.”

She said the agency was providing drinking water to staff at the Beirut port and are supporting the ministry of public health to take out what is left of stored medicines and vaccines in a warehouse at the port”.

“Child protection partners are providing psycho-social support to affected children across the city. Over the coming days, we will increase our efforts to reach families in need with much needed assistance.

“Yesterday’s catastrophe in Beirut adds to what has already been a terrible crisis for the people of Lebanon compounded by an economic collapse and a surge in Coronavirus cases. The pandemic already meant that hospitals are overwhelmed, and frontline workers are exhausted.”

Updated

From my colleague, Helena, who is in Athens:

Greece has dispatched a special disaster unit rescue team to Lebanon following Beirut’s request for relief through the EU civil protection mechanism.

Rushed to the country earlier today, the team was escorted by the deputy foreign minister.

In a tweet, Greece’s president, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, said the Greek people were standing “in solidarity” with the crisis-hit nation.

“Devastated by the tragic images of destruction in Beirut,” the head of state said in a message posted on her official Twitter account. “Words cannot describe our pain and sorrow. My deepest condolences to president general [Michel] Aoun and the families of the victims. In these difficult moments, the Greek people stand in solidarity with the Lebanese people.”

Among the victims are at least three Greeks including a woman who died in the blast.

Updated

There appear to be scuffles in central Beirut between crowds of people and forces loyal to the former prime minister, Saad Hariri. As mentioned previously, the long-standing anger directed at Lebanon’s megarich ruling class is boiling today.

Claims 'nothing was done' to remove ammonium nitrate from port

Further reports appear to corroborate allegations that negligence may have been the cause of the blast.

Reuters is quoting an unidentified official source familiar with the findings of an initial investigation as saying there were years of inaction around the removal of the ammonium nitrate.

“It is negligence,” the official source told the news agency, adding that the issue of storing the material safely had come before several committees and judges and “nothing was done” to order the material be removed or disposed of.

The source said a fire had started at port warehouse 9 on Tuesday and spread to warehouse 12, where the ammonium nitrate was stored.

Another source close to a port employee told Reuters that a team that inspected the material six months ago warned it could “blow up all of Beirut” if not removed.

Updated

Australia is donating $2m AUD (around £1.1m) to Lebanon. The money will be divided equally between the UN World Food Programme and the Red Cross.

Foreign minister Marise Payne said in the statement announcing the aid that the Australian embassy in Beirut had been damaged significantly by the explosions, with some staff receiving injuries.

Updated

Our correspondent in Moscow, Andrew Roth, has some gripping details on the ship that brought the ammonium nitrate to Beirut:

Little is known about the Russian owner of the Rhosus, the cargo ship impounded in Beirut in 2014, whose captain had referred to its freight of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate fertiliser as a “floating bomb”.

That ammonium nitrate is believed to have fuelled the devastating explosion that has left more than 100 dead in Beirut.

Former crew members said the ship was owned by Igor Grechushkin, a Russian national believed to be living in Cyprus, where he holds either citizenship or residency. Grechushkin, a native of the far-eastern city of Khabarovsk, is reported to have managed Teto Shipping, which owned the Rhosus.

The ship arrived in Beirut in 2013 while sailing from Georgia to Mozambique. It was prevented from leaving the Beirut port in 2014 over an unspecified dispute, either because the ship was deemed not seaworthy or because the owner had failed to pay the necessary fees to the port.

It was then that Grechushkin is said to have walked away from the ship, refusing to answer calls or negotiate with the port authorities for the release of his sailors.

In complaints to the press in 2014, former crew members said they had been “abandoned” in Beirut and had not been paid their wages for nearly a year. “The owner [of the ship] has virtually abandoned the ship and its crew,” wrote the ship’s former captain. “Salaries are not paid, supplies are not purchased. The shipowner has refused the cargo.”

A deleted LinkedIn profile lists Grechushkin as living in Cyprus and as working as a manager at Unimar Service Ltd. Calls to a company with a similar name and profile, Unimar Safety Services and Equipment, on Wednesday were not answered. Calls to a number for Grechushkin listed by the aggrieved crew members also went unanswered.

The letter, which was sent to Russian journalists by the Rhosus’s former captain in 2014, also complained about being “held hostage” onboard the ship. The Beirut authorities “don’t want an abandoned ship at port, especially with a cargo of explosives, which is what ammonium nitrate is. That is, this is a floating bomb, and the crew is a hostage aboard this bomb.”

The mostly Ukrainian crew were held onboard the ship for nearly a year before they were released. The ammonium nitrate was confiscated and held at the port in a warehouse.

The Russian television station Ren TV published a photograph on Wednesday of a man it said was Grechushkin in tight-fitting jeans and sunglasses sitting astride a motorcycle. The television station did not indicate the source of the photograph.

Updated

From my colleague, Emma:

Amid the horror, there was also incredible humanity on display, with the wounded recounting how they were helped to hospitals by complete strangers, and those whose homes survived offering hundreds of thousands of estimated homeless a place to stay.

Videos shared on social media also showed parents and carers trying to physically shelter small children from the blast with their bodies.

New York Times reporter Vivian Yee was injured in the blast, but managed to write a powerful account of the hours that followed. She staggered bleeding into the street where a man passing on a motorbike offered to take her to hospital. It was full, but another stranger bandaged her worst wound, and a third helped clean the others.

“The Lebanese who would help me in the hours to come had the heartbreaking steadiness that comes from having lived through countless previous disasters. Nearly all of them were strangers, yet they treated me like a friend,” she wrote.

EU gathers emergency workers and equipment from member states

The European Union is activating its civil protection system to round up emergency workers and equipment from across the 27-nation bloc to help Beirut, according to the Associated Press.

The EU commission says the plan is to urgently dispatch over 100 firefighters with vehicles, sniffer dogs and equipment designed to find people trapped in urban areas. The Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Poland and the Netherlands are taking part and others are expected to join.

The EU’s satellite mapping system will help Lebanese authorities to establish the extent of the damage. Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarcic says the EU “shares the shock and sadness” of Beirut residents and stands ready to provide extra help.

Looking ahead, there are concerns around Lebanon’s import-dependent food supply. In photos of the aftermath, you will be able to see destroyed wheat silos. Those accounted for up to 85% of the country’s grain, according to estimates, although they were reportedly nearly empty during the blast.

Reuters is quoting the economy minister, Raoul Nehme, as saying the nation has less than a month’s reserves of the grain but still with enough flour to avoid a crisis. the economy minister said on Wednesday.

Minister of Public Works Michel Najjar has said the country will now use the northern city of Tripoli as Lebanon’s main shipping port. It is currently operating at less than half of its total capacity.

This video, which we have not verified, is being shared on Twitter. It is said to be of a protester attacking the car of the former Lebanese prime minister, Saad Hariri, earlier today.

Hariri resigned last year following mass protests demanding an end to rampant corruption and mismanagement of the country. Tuesday’s blast has compounded anger from Lebanese people focused on the ruling classes.

The location is the site of the grave of Hariri’s late father, Rafik, who was killed by a truck bomb 15 years ago.

Updated

The French presidency has just confirmed that Emmanuel Macron will travel to Beirut tomorrow (Thursday).

Updated

Pallets of aid are being loaded in Dubai to be flown to Beirut:

Separately, Germany said it is ready to send a team of 47 search-and-rescue experts. The country’s embassy was damaged in the blast.

France, Qatar, Iraq and Kuwait are also shipping supplies. French emergency workers include members of a special unit with chemical training to intervene in damaged industrial sites.

Updated

Here is another Instagram account set up to help. This one is filled with posts from people around Lebanon who are offering up their homes and businesses for people to stay.

It seems to be anything from studio apartments to empty schools to entire hotels.

Bangladesh’s military has said at least 21 Bangladesh navy members of the multinational United Nations force in Beirut were injured. One of the injured is in critical condition and had been admitted to the American University of Beirut Medical Center, according to the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, Italy’s defence minister, Lorenzo Guerini, said one soldier assigned to the country’s contingent in Lebanon is injured.

The UN operates peacekeeping forces in Lebanon, as well as units to prevent the movement of illegal arms.

Updated

The first satellite image of the crater:

The tweeter says the image is from the company, Planet.

An Instagram account has been set up to locate people who went missing in Beirut.

The account is also posting lists of people admitted to various hospitals in the city, to help people find their loved ones.

View this post on Instagram

List of Injured people at Mustashfa el Sahel

A post shared by LOCATING MISSING PEOPLE (@locatevictimslebanon) on

Beirut governor says half the city damaged, estimates cost at $3 bn

Hello, Oliver Holmes here again, taking over from Rebecca.

AFP is quoting the governor of Beirut, Marwan Abboud, as saying the damage from the port blast has extended over half of the city, with the cost of damage likely above $3bn.

He has also upped his previous estimate of the number of “homeless” to 300,000, which is close to the total population of the central part of the capital. Again, we are not sure if he is talking about homelessness or people whose homes have been damaged.

Updated

What we know so far

  • Beirut awoke to scenes of devastation this morning, following two huge explosions in its port which sent a blast wave across the city, killing at least 100 people and injuring nearly 4,000.
  • Lebanese prime minister Hassan Diab appealed to all countries and friends of Lebanon to extend help to the nation, saying: “We are witnessing a real catastrophe.” He earlier said the cause of the explosion was 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a common industrial chemical used in fertiliser and as a component in mining explosives. Diab declared a national day of mourning for the victims of the explosion, and promised accountability.
  • Rescuers have continued to search for victims who remain trapped under rubble. In one video shared on Wednesday, a search team can be heard clapping and cheering as a survivor is pulled to safety.
  • Residents, desperate to reach their loved ones, are sharing pictures of missing relatives, as well as phone numbers online. Throughout the night, TV and radio presenters in Lebanon read the names of the missing or wounded.
  • Hospitals, several of which were damaged in the blast, have been inundated with patients. In Gemmayze district, medical teams were forced to triage patients in a car park, while the Red Cross said it is coordinating with the Lebanese health ministry to set up morgues.
  • Aerial images from the scene of the explosion illustrate the impact of the blast, which destroyed crucial silos that contained around 85% of the country’s grain. Lebanon’s economy minister, Raoul Nehme, said the wheat in Beirut’s port granaries cannot be used and that the ministry lost track of seven employees in the granaries.
  • Governments worldwide have offered support, including the UK, France, Australia, the US, Canada and Israel.

Updated

MTV says that a team of its journalists have been arrested while out reporting on the aftermath of yesterday’s explosion.

Lebanon is considered one of the more liberal media environments in the region, though reporters have warned that the space for the free press is shrinking.

Updated

Some more aerial imagery from the scene of the explosion, which has destroyed silos containing 85% of the country’s grain, as well as a warehouse containing medical supplies.

The Red Cross is coordinating with the Lebanese health ministry to set up morgues because hospitals have become so overwhelmed, George Kettani, the head of Lebanon’s Red Cross, has told Reuters.

In the aftermath of the blast, hospitals asked people with non-life-threatening injuries to stay at home because they were unable to cope with a huge influx in patients. Several hospitals were damaged in the explosion. In Gemmayze district, medical staff have been forced to assess patients in a car park, while others have reported shortages of key medicines including antibiotics.

Updated

Witnesses in Cyprus, barely 100 miles from Beirut, say the blast was not only heard but felt. Local media reported Cypriot authorities being placed on alert within minutes of the explosion with many comparing it to a similar blast in southern Cyprus nine years ago at a munitions dump in the naval base of Mari.

Described at the time as the fifth largest accidental explosion on the planet, the blast left 12 dead including the commander of the country’s navy. Among the highly explosive material exposed to the summer heat in open storage at the base were artillery shells and compressed gunpowder. In the shockwave emitted by the blast the island’s power plant was instantly knocked out.

The EU’s most easterly state, Cyprus offered to send medical teams to the neighbouring country if required. Earlier today, the foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides said, if necessary, Cypriot hospitals were also “ready to accept injured people for treatment”.

A diplomat in the Cypriot embassy in Beirut was wounded in the blast, according to the island’s news agency, with the building and ambassadorial residence sustaining heavy damage as a result of the explosion.

Updated

A moment of hope and celebration in Beirut. People cheer and clap as a survivor is rescued from rubble:

There are differing reports about the scale of the impact across Beirut. Some reports, based on statements from Beirut governor Marwan Abboud, suggest hundreds have lost their homes, while MTV has reported as 250,000 people have been left homeless.

It is not clear if these higher estimates refer to people whose homes have been damaged by the impact of the explosion. This post has been updated to reflect this lack of clarity.

Updated

Rescue workers are continuing to search through rubble at the port, according to the civil defence director general, Raymond Khattar, who said it is believed people remain trapped.

There is concern that the damaged structures are unstable and at risk of collapsing, MTV reported. So far, six bodies have been recovered from inside the port and three from the sea. Many more remain missing.

Sources told MTV that members of the army, intelligence, and Beirut fire brigade were present at the scene when the explosion happened.

Updated

Britain is assessing what support to provide to Lebanon, according to junior education minister Nick Gibb.

“The government is working urgently this morning on what we can do to help the Lebanese government with technical support and of course working with our allies to provide financial assistance,” Gibb told BBC radio.

“There will be further announcements this morning and later today about what support we will be providing to Lebanon,” he said.

Updated

My colleague Martin Chulov has sent the following update from Beirut:

Beirut has awoken to a new sense of vulnerability this morning the day after one of the most shocking events to have struck the city.

The sound of mountains of glass being swept from balconies and cascading on to roads was a soundtrack to an eerie, fitful night. Ambulances wailed. Building guards sat silently in the dark on plastic chairs. There was nothing much to safeguard anymore, nor much of a will to do so.

Tired emergency workers trudged through the pre-dawn gloom, some holding sledgehammers, others carrying water. A car park in the Gemmayze district had been turned into a triage centre. Orange plastic stretchers, slick with blood, were lined up from one side to the other.

As a ravaged city slowly picks up the pieces, the overwhelming question – how could this happen? – is being asked in ever more strident terms. If this was, as is now increasingly suspected, a catastrophic industrial accident stemming from breathtaking negligence, who will pay the price?

Politicians, already at odds with vast parts of Lebanese society, have pledged to fix up to a million or more windows shattered in the blast. With their credibility at an all-time low among voters ravaged by an economic implosion and a coronavirus lockdown that is amplifying a nationwide collapse, few seem inclined to believe their leaders.

“If any of them will hold each other to account, I might change my mind,” said a shop worker, Khaled Qudsi. “But you can bet your life that if any of their commercial interests were tied up to this accident, it will be swept away and blamed on a straw man.”

Updated

Several countries are dispatching emergency workers and medical staff to help Lebanon recover from the disaster.

France says it is sending two planes with dozens of emergency workers, a mobile medical unit and 15 tonnes of aid. French president Emmanuel Macron’s office says the aid should allow for the treatment of about 500 victims. French peacekeepers stationed in Lebanon, a former French protectorate, have been helping since the explosions, Macron’s office said.

Jordan says a military field hospital including all necessary personnel will be dispatched, according to the royal court, while Egypt has opened a field hospital in Beirut to receive the wounded.

Czech interior minister Jan Hamáček says Lebanon has accepted an offer to send a team of 37 rescuers with sniffer dogs to Beirut. Denmark also says it is ready to provide humanitarian assistance to Lebanon, and Greece says it is ready to help Lebanese authorities with all means at its disposal.

Updated

Here are some more aerial images showing the scene of the explosion.

The blast destroyed crucial grain silos at the port, which are thought to have stored around 85% of the country’s grain.

Lebanon’s state-run national news agency quoted Raoul Nehme, the minister of economy and trade, as saying that all the wheat stored at the facility had been contaminated and couldn’t be used. However, he insisted Lebanon had enough wheat for its immediate needs. Nehme said Lebanon also would import more wheat.

Lebanon depends on imports for about 80% of its wheat supply, according to Associated Press.

A drone picture shows the scene of an explosion that hit Beirut, Lebanon.
A drone picture shows the scene of an explosion that hit Beirut, Lebanon. Photograph: Hussein Malla/AP
A drone picture shows smoke from the scene of an explosion at the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. A massive explosion rocked Beirut on Tuesday, flattening much of the city’s port, damaging buildings across the capital and sending a giant mushroom cloud into the sky. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A drone picture shows smoke from the scene of an explosion at the seaport of Beirut. Photograph: Hussein Malla/AP
This drone pictures shows a destroyed events and exhibition hall near the scene of an explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020.
This drone pictures shows a destroyed events and exhibition hall near the scene of an explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut. Photograph: Hussein Malla/AP

Updated

We are witnessing a real catastrophe - Lebanese prime minister

Lebanese prime minister Hassan Diab, in a short televised speech, has appealed to all countries and friends of Lebanon to extend help to the nation, saying: “We are witnessing a real catastrophe.”

He reiterated his pledge that those responsible for the massive explosion at Beirut’s port will pay the price, without commenting on the cause, the Associated Press has reported.

Smoke was still rising from the port this morning. Major downtown streets are littered with debris and damaged vehicles, and building facades blown out.

Updated

Here’s some analysis from my colleague Tom Phillips, former China correspondent, who recalls the devastating 2015 warehouse disaster in Tianjin, which also involved ammonium nitrate:

The images coming out of Beirut are horribly reminiscent of the destruction inflicted on the Chinese city of Tianjin by a 2015 warehouse disaster that killed more than 170 people and left hundreds injured.

Lebanon’s prime minister, Hassan Diab, has blamed today’s catastrophe on the explosion of 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, which can be used to make fertilisers and explosives. The same highly explosive compound was also involved in Tianjin, a major port city 70 miles south-east of the capital, Beijing.

On the night of 12 August 2015, a series of cataclysmic detonations rocked an area of warehouses where large quantities of hazardous chemicals, also including sodium cyanide and potassium nitrate, were being stored, in some cases illegally.

Chinese authorities later claimed the first explosion had been triggered after the heat of summer caused a highly flammable compound called nitrocellulose to spontaneously ignite. Nearby stores of ammonium nitrate then caught fire and exploded.

Firefighters who rushed to the scene reportedly attempted to extinguish the initial blaze with water – only to inadvertently exacerbate the situation because of the presence of hazardous flammable chemicals. The majority of those killed were firefighters, including at least one teenager.

Such was the force of the Tianjin explosions that they registered as small earthquakes.

Then, as now, witnesses filmed apocalyptic footage showing the scale of the inferno.

Updated

The impact of yesterday’s explosion is clear from this image, which shows the aftermath at the site of the blast.

Hospitals in Lebanon were already struggling with supplies due to the economic crisis. It is now being reported that medical goods, which were being held near to the site of the blast, were destroyed in the explosion.

Death toll at least 100, according to Red Cross

A Red Cross official is quoted by the Daily Star stating that the death toll rose overnight to at least 100, and that more than 4,000 people are wounded.

Beirut governor Marwan Abboud later told a local radio station that more than 100 people remain missing, including several firefighters, the newspaper reports.

“Beirut has never gone through what it went through yesterday,” Abboud said.

As is common after major disasters, there has been some confusion over the death toll. A named Red Cross official was earlier quoted by local broadcasters saying that the number of fatalities was expected to reach 100. However, it now appears that the number of deaths has passed this grim milestone.

Updated

Today’s edition of al-Akhbar newspaper, which shows a photo of a destroyed port with the words: The Great Collapse.

From Associated Press’s senior producer, Dalal Mawad:

Updated

Residents, desperate to reach their loved ones, are sharing pictures of missing relatives, as well as phone numbers online. On Instagram, a page, locatevictimsbeirut, has also been set up to try to locate people in the aftermath of the blast.

Rappler news in the Philippines reports that 12 Filipinos are missing in Beirut.

The head of the Lebanese Red Cross, George Kettana, has told Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International that there are over 4,000 people injured, some in a serious condition, and that the number of fatalities may reach 100. Some victims are still trapped under rubble, Kettana said.

This has not been confirmed by officials.

Updated

Rescue teams have worked through the night into Wednesday morning, in the hope of recovering survivors.

“There are many people missing. People are asking the emergency department about their loved ones and it is difficult to search at night because there is no electricity,” the health minister Hamad Hasan told Reuters.

Officials expect the death toll will rise further. So far, 78 are confirmed to have died.

Yesterday, relatives of the missing scrambled at the port for news of their loved ones, AFP reported:

“It’s a catastrophe inside. There are corpses on the ground. Ambulances are still lifting the dead,” a soldier at the port said.

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.

Updated

This image, taken by a drone, shows a destroyed events and exhibition hall near the scene of an explosion. Across the city, shop and apartment windows were blown out and streets covered with broken glass.

This drone pictures shows a destroyed events and exhibition hall near the scene of an explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. A massive explosion rocked Beirut on Tuesday, flattening much of the city’s port, damaging buildings across the capital and sending a giant mushroom cloud into the sky. More than 70 people were killed and 3,000 injured, with bodies buried in the rubble, officials said. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A massive explosion rocked Beirut on Tuesday, flattening much of the city’s port, damaging buildings across the capital and sending a giant mushroom cloud into the sky. Photograph: Hussein Malla/AP

Cypriot foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides has offered to send medical aid to neighbouring Lebanon. He said the Cypriot embassy in Beirut, which was closed at the time of the blast, was extensively damaged.

“Cyprus is ready to accept injured persons for treatment and send medical teams if required,” Christodoulides told state broadcaster CyBC.

Tuesday’s explosion was heard throughout Cyprus, which lies about 100 miles (160km) away.

Updated

There are reports that six medical workers are among those who were killed in the explosion, though it is not possible to confirm this. Several hospitals were damaged in the blast, with parts of their ceilings collapsing, windows shattered and electricity cut off.

Throughout the night, TV and radio presenters in Lebanon read the names of the missing or wounded, reports Sarah El Deeb, Associated Press correspondent. Many residents, desperate to reach family members, are sharing online messages with phone numbers and the names of their relatives.

In Beirut, residents are waking up to scenes of devastation this morning. The scale of the disaster is immense.

A general view shows the aftermath at the site of Tuesday’s blast in Beirut’s port area, Lebanon August 5, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
The aftermath at the site of Tuesday’s blast in Beirut’s port area, Lebanon August 5. Photograph: Aziz Taher/Reuters
People inspect the damage near the site of Tuesday’s blast in Beirut’s port area, Lebanon August 5, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
People inspect the damage near the site of Tuesday’s blast in Beirut’s port area, Lebanon August 5, 2020. Photograph: Aziz Taher/Reuters
A view shows the aftermath at the site of Tuesday’s blast in Beirut’s port area, Lebanon August 5, 2020. REUTERS/Issam Abdallah
A view shows the aftermath at the site of Tuesday’s blast in Beirut’s port area, Lebanon August 5, 2020. Photograph: Issam Abdallah/Reuters
BESTPIX - Massive Explosion Near Port Area Of BeirutBEIRUT, LEBANON - AUGUST 04: A man walks by an overturned car and destroyed buildings on August 4, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. At least 50 people were killed and thousands more injured when two explosions occurred near the Lebanese capital’s port area. (Photo by Marwan Tahtah/Getty Images) *** BESTPIX ***
A man walks by an overturned car and destroyed buildings on August 4, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. Photograph: Getty Images

Dr David Caldicott, emergency consultant and senior clinical lecturer in medicine at the Australian National University, has provided the following analysis on the scale of the explosion.

Ammonium nitrate is an important fertiliser, but also a key component in improvised explosives around the world. The Oklahoma bombing in 1995 involved 3-4 tonnes of the material, and it has been alleged that as much as 2,600 tonnes has been involved in Beirut’s case. Following the Oklahoma bombing, federal restrictions in the US were introduced. Our research group computer modelled the possible effects of merely a 5 tonne ammonium nitrate/fuel oil (ANFO) device on the Adelaide CBD in the mid-‘00s, and the results were several 100 dead and 1000s injured. Shortly after, more stringent accounting of an agent the clearly still has utility in agriculture was introduced in Australia.

This explosion can be considered as a ‘high order’ explosion, with an obvious blast wave seen to be propagated from a massive secondary explosion, that followed on from the event. This has significant implications for the number and types of casualties that might be expected.

My colleague Ben Doherty, has the following update:

The full scale of the calamity was laid bare when the capital woke on Wednesday with rescue teams searching through the debris of ruined neighbourhoods for the missing, and hospitals struggling to cope with the influx of casualties

A two-week state of emergency has been recommended by the president, after authorities blamed a huge store of the highly reactive chemical ammonium nitrate for the explosion that sent a shockwave across the city, shattering windows, collapsing roofs and rendering homes uninhabitable.

The blast, at 6:08pm local time on Tuesday, was so powerful it was felt in Cyprus, 120 miles away.

It left cars with blown out windows strewn on highways and a city in shock. Footage posted on social media showed whole neighbourhoods in ruins.

“There are many people missing. People are asking the emergency department about their loved ones and it is difficult to search at night because there is no electricity,” Health Minister Hamad Hasan told Reuters.

President Michel Aoun declared a three-day mourning period, and said the government would release 100 billion lira (£50.5m; $66m) of emergency funds.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has tweeted that he is “shocked and saddened” by the explosion in Beirut, adding: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families and the injured.”

In the video below, Beirut residents describe the impact of the explosion. “I’ve seen war, I’ve felt war,” says one man. “It’s a catastrophe. I’ve never seen something like that.”

At a hospital, a member of staff describes how part of the building’s ceiling has collapsed, and windows shattered.

“I think outrage would be the correct word to express what I’m feeling right now,” says another resident.

Updated

Leila Molana-Allen, Middle East Correspondent for France 24, has been speaking to BBC World Service from Beirut.

Hospitals, she said, are “barely coping”. She was treated in the early hours for an non-life-threatening injury, and said nurses described receiving 300 patients in just a few hours. “They were running low on certain types of anitbiotics, they were completely out of tetanus shots, which of course they need to give everyone who has one of these types of injuries - and of course everyone had a debris injury,” said Molana-Allen.

Hospitals were already struggling with supplies due to the economic crisis.

At first, many people assumed the blast was some kind of attack, only to later hear it was caused by huge stores of ammonium nitrate. “Once people started to realise that this seemingly was the result of government neglect - obviously this is a country that has had months’ worth of protests about government ineptitude - the level to which rage and sorrow now is spreading through the people, it’s indescribable,” she said.

“The rage is palpable,” added Molana-Allen.

Hi, Rebecca Ratcliffe here. I’m taking over from my colleague Helen Sullivan.

It’s now 6.25am in Beirut, where 78 people were killed and 4,000 injured in a devastating explosion yesterday. It is feared the number of fatalities is likely to increase.

If you are following from Beirut, please do get in touch with any information or footage that you feel we should cover. My DMs are open on Twitter, or you can email rebecca.ratcliffe@theguardian.com.

Updated

That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan. It is now dawn in Lebanon. Many will not have slept at all, some will wake up soon and remember what has happened. My heartfelt condolences to each of them.

My colleague Rebecca Ratcliffe will be bringing you the latest for the next few hours.

Here are some more photographs from the city – a common refrain on Twitter is that this blast has, in a matter of seconds, caused the same amount of destruction as years and years of war:

People run in the aftermath of a massive explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, 4 August 2020.
People run in the aftermath of a massive explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, 4 August 2020. Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AP
Wounded people sit on a street following an explosion in the Lebanese capital Beirut on 4 August 2020.
Wounded people sit on a street following an explosion in the Lebanese capital Beirut on 4 August 2020. Photograph: APAImages/REX/Shutterstock
A helicopter puts out a fire at the scene of an explosion at the port of Lebanon’s capital Beirut on 4 August 2020.
A helicopter puts out a fire at the scene of an explosion at the port of Lebanon’s capital Beirut on 4 August 2020. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Smoke billows from harbor area with damage and debris after a large explosion rocked the harbor of Beirut, Lebanon, 4 August 2020.
Smoke billows from harbour area with damage and debris after a large explosion rocked the harbour of Beirut, Lebanon, 4 August 2020. Photograph: Wael Hamzeh/EPA

Summary

  • On Tuesday evening in Lebanon’s capital city of Beirut, two huge explosions in its port sent an enormous blast wave across the city, killing at least 78 people and injuring thousands more. The scale of the damage is huge, with buildings miles from the port lying in ruin. The blast comes at a terrible time for Lebanon, which is on the brink of financial collapse.
  • Lebanon’s prime minister, Hassan Diab, said the cause of the explosion was 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a common industrial chemical used in fertiliser and as a component in mining explosives. Diab declared a national day of mourning for the victims of the explosion. The warehouse that authorities claim was the site of the blast had been the subject of warnings going back to 2014, he said. He would “reveal facts” about the warehouse soon, he said, but did not want to pre-empt an investigation.
  • Hospitals that are already dealing with the coronavirus crisis were quickly filled beyond capacity, and issued pleas for blood donations and generators to keep the lights going.
  • Donald Trump has said the deadly explosion in Beirut “looks like a terrible attack”, contradicting the information coming from Lebanese officials. Asked whether he was “confident” the Lebanon explosion was “an attack and not an accident”, he told reporters: “Well it would seem like it, based on the explosion.” The president added he had met US generals and said they “seem to feel that it was”.
  • Lebanon’s Supreme Defence Council recommended declaring Beirut a disaster-stricken city, declaring a two-week state of emergency in the capital and handing over security responsibilities to military authorities. A council statement, read live on television, said President Michel Aoun has decided to release 100bn Lebanese pounds in emergency allocations from the 2020 budget.
  • Lebanon’s economy minister, Raoul Nehme, said the wheat in Beirut’s port granaries cannot be used and that the ministry lost track of seven employees in the granaries. The minister also told local media that Lebanon will import wheat and added that the country currently had enough wheat until imports resume.
  • There was confusion among residents over whether the air had become dangerous to breathe. The US embassy in Beirut released a statement advising people to wear masks and stay indoors, following “reports of toxic gases released in the explosion”. Many people’s windows where shattered by the blast making it difficult to avoid breathing the air outside. The American University of Beirut’s aerosol research lab’s indicators showed air quality levels had returned to “good” by 7pm, however, after showing “moderate” levels of particulate matter an hour earlier.
  • United Nations Secretary General António Guterres sent his condolences, saying, he “wishes a speedy recovery to the injured, including several United Nations personnel working in Lebanon.” At least 48 UN staff were injured in the blast, along with 27 of their dependents.
  • Governments worldwide have offered support, including the UK, France, Australia, the US, Canada and Israel.
  • An Australian citizen has been confirmed dead. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said: “It’s my deep regret to inform you that one Australian has been killed in this horrific blast” but did not reveal further details.
  • UK prime minister Boris Johnson offered the UK’s support and said that there were British nationals affected by the incident.

Lebanon has been crippled by a number of long-running, seemingly intractable crises for decades. The country endured a devastating 15-year civil war and has often been caught in the crossfire of regional conflicts.

But the deadly explosion that ripped through the Beirut port on Tuesday – which comes amid the coronavirus pandemic and an economic meltdown – may be the calamity that brings a beleaguered nation to its knees:

New York Times middle east correspondent (and all-round champion and my friend) Vivian Yee has written a gut-wrenching account of the blast, despite having multiple injuries and several staples in her forehead:

I was just about to look at a video a friend had sent me on Tuesday afternoon — “the port seems to be burning,” she said — when my whole building shook, as if startled, by the deepest boom I’d ever heard. Uneasily, naïvely, I ran to the window, then back to my desk to check for news.

Then came a much bigger boom, and the sound itself seemed to splinter. There was shattered glass flying everywhere. Not thinking but moving, I ducked under my desk.

...

Later, someone would tell me that Beirutis of her generation, who had been raised during Lebanon’s 15-year civil war, instinctively ran into their hallways as soon as they heard the first blast, to escape the glass they knew would break.

I was not so well-trained, but the Lebanese who would help me in the hours to come had the heartbreaking steadiness that comes from having lived through countless previous disasters. Nearly all of them were strangers, yet they treated me like a friend.

Updated

More on the hospitals – the Lebanese Red Cross has pleaded with people to donate blood:

Here is our full explainer on what ammonium nitrate is:

Lebanon’s prime minister, Hassan Diab, said 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded after lying unsecured in a warehouse for six years, tallying with reports that a ship carrying a similar quantity of the chemical had unloaded its cargo at the port in 2013. It remains unclear what caused the chemical to ignite.

Ammonium nitrate is a common industrial chemical used mainly for fertiliser because it is a good source of nitrogen for plants. It is also one of the main components in mining explosives.

It is not explosive on its own, rather it is an oxidiser, drawing oxygen to a fire – and therefore making it much more intense, according to Gabriel da Silva, a senior lecturer in chemical engineering at the University of Melbourne:

Updated

Here is another angle of the explosion, in a video taken from the top of the hotel Le Gray. The empty lot seen in the video was in recent months the site of mass protests against the failing economy – it leads onto Lebanon’s Martyr’s Square:

What is ammonium nitrate?

Here is a bit more on what ammonium nitrate actually is:

Gabriel da Silva, a senior lecturer in chemical engineering at the University of Melbourne explained that ammonium nitrate is a common industrial chemical used mainly for fertiliser because it is a good source of nitrogen for plants.

It is also one of the main components in mining explosives.

Ammonium nitrate is not explosive on its own, rather it is an oxidiser, drawing oxygen to a fire – and therefore making it much more intense.

However, da Silva explained, it only ignites under the right circumstances, and these are difficult to achieve. “You need extreme circumstances to set off an explosion,” he said.

While ammonium nitrate can in fact put out a fire, if the chemical itself is contaminated, for example with oil, it becomes highly explosive.

“I think that’s what’s happened here,” said da Silva.

While the chemicals in the air should dissipate fairly quickly, lingering pollutants can cause problems later, for example if they acidify rain.

“If you look at the smoke that came from the blast it’s this kind of blood red colour . That’s because of the nitrogen oxide air pollutants in it,” he said.

Updated

Hi, Helen Sullivan here. Thank you to those of you getting in touch on Twitter and via email.

A reminder that you can send news, tips, photographs and messages to my Twitter @helenrsullivan or email: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com.

More of the reactions from world leaders:

President Vladimir Putin said that “Russia shares the grief of the Lebanese people,” according to a Kremlin statement.

“I ask you to convey words of sympathy and support to the families and friends of the victims, as well as wishes for a speedy recovery to all affected.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the country was “ready to provide assistance according to the needs expressed by the Lebanese authorities”.

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the pictures and videos from Beirut “shocking”.

“All of my thoughts and prayers are with those caught up in this terrible incident,” he wrote on Twitter. “The UK is ready to provide support in any way we can, including to those British nationals affected.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on social media to say “we think of all those who were injured in this tragic explosion, as well as those who are trying to find a friend or family member or who have lost a loved one. We’re ready to help you.”

This photograph shows a nurse at a hospital in Beirut holding three infants after the blast:

A nurse takes care of three babies in a damaged hospital after the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, 4 August 2020.
A nurse takes care of three babies in a damaged hospital after the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, 4 August 2020. Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock

A bit of background on the economic challenges that Lebanon is facing.

October last year saw people across Lebanon protest against a lack of basic infrastructure – the tap water is not safe to drink and have for years lived with daily electricity blackouts of, at minimum, three outs – perceived government corruption, and austerity measures.

A general view of demonstrators during an anti-government protest in downtown Beirut, Lebanon 20 October 2019.
A general view of demonstrators during an anti-government protest in downtown Beirut, Lebanon 20 October 2019. Photograph: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters

The protests, which lead to the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri, were fiercely non-sectarian, with people choosing to wave the Lebanese national flag rather than show symbols for individual political parties and marked a euphoric moment for Lebanese residents.

Little has changed since, however, with blackouts worsening amid economic free fall and food prices climbing by up to 80%.

Updated

US officials say it is unclear where Trump is receiving information

Two US officials, speaking to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, said it was unclear where Trump was receiving his information but that initial information did not appear to show that the explosion was an attack.

The officials said the information so far tracked closer to what Lebanese officials had publicly given. They added that it was still early and could change as time went on.

A reminder that Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun has said that the explosion was caused by 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored for six years at the port without safety measures.

Prime Minister Hassan Diab said in a televised address to the nation there would be accountability for the deadly blast at the “dangerous warehouse”.

Incredibly sad scenes, from AFP:

Soldiers cordoned off the area, littered with glass and debris from the explosion which officials said was the result of fire catching in a warehouse where hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate were stored.

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 security forces would not let her enter.

Nearby another woman almost fainted while asking about her brother who worked at the port.

Every parked vehicle within a radius of several hundred metres sustained damage from blast, so big that it was felt in Cyprus, 240 kilometres (150 miles) away.

An Instagram account established to help people find missing loved ones already has more than 40,000 followers.

Close to 100 posts with people missing since the explosion have been published so far:

Here are some of the expressions of support from around the world:

Close allies and traditional adversaries of Lebanon paid tribute on Tuesday to the victims of massive, deadly twin blasts in Beirut, as condolences and offers of help poured in, AFP reports.

In the region, Gulf nations were among the first to react, with Qatar promising to send field hospitals to support the medical response.

Qatar’s ruler Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani wished “a speedy recovery for the injured,” while the United Arab Emirates’ Vice President and ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, tweeted “our condolences to our beloved people in Lebanon.”

Egypt expressed “deep concern” at the destruction, and Arab League chief Ahmed Aboulgheit offered condolences, stressing “the importance of finding the truth about the explosions”.

And unusually, neighbouring Israel offered humanitarian aid - to a country with which it is still technically at war.

“Defence 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,” a statement read.

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Amman was ready to provide any help Lebanon needed, while Iran said it was “fully prepared to render assistance in any way necessary”.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the great and resilient people of Lebanon,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted.

Yet another video – this is taken from one of the few public spaces in the city (and where my husband and I spent tome most evenings while living there):

The New York Times’ Maria Abi-Habib on the situation at hospitals:

What we know so far

  • On Tuesday evening in Lebanon’s capital city of Beirut, two huge explosions at the port sent an enormous blast wave across the city, killing at least 78 people and injuring thousands more. The scale of the damage caused by the blast is huge, with buildings miles from the port explosion in ruin. The blast comes at a terrible time for Lebanon, which is on the brink of financial collapse.
  • Hospitals, which are dealing with the coronavirus crisis, quickly filled beyond capacity, pleading for blood supplies, and generators to keep their lights on.
  • Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, said the cause of the explosion was 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate. Diab declared a national day of mourning for the victims of the explosion. The warehouse that authorities claim was the source of the blast had been the subject of warnings going back to 2014, he said. He would “reveal facts” about the warehouse soon, he said, but does not want to pre-empt an investigation.
  • Donald Trump has said the deadly explosion in Beirut today “looks like a terrible attack”, contradicting the information coming from Lebanese officials. Asked whether he was “confident” the Lebanon explosion was “an attack and not an accident”, he told reporters: “Well it would seem like it, based on the explosion.” The president added he had met with US generals and said they “seem to feel that it was”.
  • Lebanon’s Supreme Defence Council recommended declaring Beirut a disaster-stricken city, declaring a two-week state of emergency in the capital and handing over security responsibility to military authorities. A council statement, read live on television, said President Michel Aoun has decided to release 100bn Lebanese pounds in emergency allocations from the 2020 budget.
  • Lebanon’s economy minister, Raoul Nehme, told local media on Tuesday that the wheat in Beirut’s port granaries can not be used and that the ministry lost track of seven employees in the granaries. The minister also told local media that Lebanon will import wheat and added that the country currently has enough wheat until they begin importing it.
  • There was confusion among residents over whether the air had become dangerous to breathe. US Embassy in Beirut released a statement advising that people wear masks and stay indoors, following “reports of toxic gases released in the explosion”. Many people’s windows where shattered by the blast making it difficult to avoid breathing the air outside.The American University of Aerosol Research Lab’s indicators showed that air quality levels had returned to “Good” by 7pm, however, after showing “Moderate” levels of particulate matter an hour earlier.
  • Governments worldwide have offered support, including the UK, France, Australia, the US, Canada and Israel.
  • An Australian citizen has been confirmed dead. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, “It’s my deep regret to inform you that one Australian has been killed in this horrific blast” but did not reveal further details.
  • UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson offered the UK’s support and said that there were British nationals affected by the incident.

Updated

From the AFP’s Sara Hussein, formerly a correspondent in Beirut:

How does this explosion compare to the Tianjin explosions in 2015?

The images coming out of Beirut are horribly reminiscent of the destruction inflicted on the Chinese city of Tianjin by a 2015 warehouse disaster that killed more than 170 people and left hundreds injured.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, has blamed today’s catastrophe on the explosion of 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, which can be used to make fertilisers and explosives. And the same highly explosive compound was also involved in Tianjin, a major port city 70 miles southeast of the capital Beijing.

On the night of 12 August 2015 a series of cataclysmic detonations rocked an area of warehouses where large quantities of hazardous chemicals, also including sodium cyanide and potassium nitrate, were being stored, in some cases illegally.

Chinese authorities later claimed the first explosion had been triggered after the heat of summer caused a highly flammable compound called nitrocellulose to spontaneously ignite. Nearby stores of ammonium nitrate then caught fire and exploded.

Firefighters who rushed to the scene reportedly attempted to extinguish the initial blaze with water - only to inadvertently exacerbate the situation because of the presence of hazardous flammable chemicals. The majority of those killed were firefighters, including at least one teenager.

Such was the force of the Tianjin explosions that they registered as small earthquakes.

Then, as now, eyewitnesses filmed apocalyptic, almost surreal footage showing the scale of the inferno.

Here are some photographs of the devastation in the city:

People gather by cars destroyed following an explosion at the port of Lebanon’s capital Beirut on 4 August 2020.
People gather by cars destroyed following an explosion at the port of Lebanon’s capital Beirut on 4 August 2020. Photograph: Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images
A rescue worker tends to an injured man following an explosion at the port of Beirut on 4 August 2020.
A rescue worker tends to an injured man following an explosion at the port of Beirut on 4 August 2020. Photograph: Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images
Men stand before wrecked buildings near the port on 4 August 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon.
Men stand before wrecked buildings near the port on 4 August 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. Photograph: Getty Images
Smoke rises from a port facility after large explosions on 4 August 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon.
Smoke rises from a port facility after large explosions on 4 August 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. Photograph: Getty Images
Ambulances drive past the site of a massive explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, 4 August, 2020.
Ambulances drive past the site of a massive explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, 4 August, 2020. Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AP

Updated

There is confusion among residents over whether the air has become dangerous to breathe.

US Embassy in Beirut released a statement advising that people wear masks and stay indoors, following “reports of toxic gases released in the explosion”. Many people’s windows where shattered by the blast making it difficult to avoid breathing the air outside.

The American University of Aerosol Research Lab’s indicators showed that air quality levels had returned to “Good” by 7pm, however, after showing “Moderate” levels of particulate matter an hour earlier.

American University of Aerosol Research Lab indicator showing air pollution levels in Beirut.
American University of Aerosol Research Lab indicator showing air pollution levels in Beirut. Photograph: Screengrab

Updated

Here is our video report on the explosion in Beirut.

If you’re just joining us: Beirut has been rocked by a huge explosion, devastating parts of the city and injuring thousands of people. Eyewitness footage shared widely on social media showed a section of the city’s port area on fire before a huge blast engulfed nearby neighbourhoods, flattening buildings and leaving streets littered with broken glass and debris.

The Lebanese security chief, Abbas Ibrahim, later blamed combustible chemicals stored in a warehouse. Lebanon’s prime minister, Hassan Diab, said those responsible would ‘pay a price’ for the disaster:

Lebanon’s Supreme Defence Council recommended declaring Beirut a disaster-stricken city, declaring a two-week state of emergency in the capital and handing over security responsibility to military authorities, Reuters reports.

A council statement, read live on television, said President Michel Aoun has decided to release 100bn Lebanese pounds in emergency allocations from the 2020 budget.

It also recommended ahead of a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday that a committee be tasked with investigating the blast and present its findings within five days to mete out the maximum punishment for those responsible.

People in Beirut appear to be opening their homes up to those who need a place to spend the night – many people’s apartments are now windowless or nearly destroyed:

Hi, Helen Sullivan here. Thank you to those of you getting in touch on Twitter and via email.

A reminder that you can send news, tips, photographs and messages to my Twitter @helenrsullivan or email: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com.

More on those comments from US President Donald Trump:

Donald Trump was just asked whether he was “confident” the Lebanon explosion was “an attack and not an accident”.

He told reporters: “Well it would seem like it, based on the explosion.” The president added he had met with US generals and said they “seem to feel that it was”.

“They seem to think it was an attack. It was a bomb of some kind, yes,” he said.

Trump’s assessment contradicts the information coming out of Lebanon

Updated

Trump says explosion 'looks like a terrible attack'

Donald Trump has said the deadly explosion in Beirut today “looks like a terrible attack”.

“The United States stands ready to assist Lebanon. We have a very good relationship with the people of Lebanon, and we will be there to help,” Trump said as he opened the daily White House coronavirus press conference on Tuesday. “It looks like a terrible attack,” he added.

The president did not immediately elaborate. It was unclear whether Trump’s comments were just his view, or based on an intelligence briefing.

Lebanon’s security chief, Abbas Ibrahim, has blamed combustible chemicals stored in a warehouse. The interior minister, Mohammed Fahmi, said ammonium nitrate had been among the materials stored and called for an investigation into how it ignited.

Updated

Death toll climbs to 78 with 4,000 injured

Lebanon’s health minister told Reuters that the death toll from a massive explosion in the capital Beirut on Tuesday had reached 78, adding that nearly 4,000 people had been injured.

“There are many people missing until now. People are asking the emergency department about their loved ones and it is difficult to search at night because there is no electricity,” minister Hamad Hasan told Reuters. “We are facing a real catastrophe and need time to assess the extent of damages.”

The minister earlier said in televised remarks that more than 70 people had been killed.

Here is a video taken from a car at the time of the explosion:

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab has confirmed that 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate are believed to have exploded, AFP reports:

The amount of ammonium nitrate would make this explosion larger than the to the 1947 Texas Disaster, when a consignment of 2,300 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded:

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, which lists the death toll from that disaster at between 400 and 600 people.

On the morning of April 16, the French-owned Grandcamp was preparing to finish loading a consignment of ammonium nitrate fertilizer at the port of Texas City, near Galveston. About 8:00 AM crew members noticed smoke in the cargo area, where 2,300 tons of the fertilizer had already been stowed. In order to keep the cargo intact, the crew decided not to use water to extinguish the fire; they instead tried, unsuccessfully, to snuff out the flames. Shortly after 9:00 AM the temperature inside the cargo area had risen enough to spark a massive explosion that was heard as far as 150 miles (240 km) away. The resulting fire destroyed the dock area and engulfed the nearby Monsanto Chemical Company plant. A mushroom cloud rose 2,000 feet (600 metres) into the air, and two small planes passing above were destroyed.

Seven employees missing in port granaries, wheat unusable

Lebanon’s economy minister, Raoul Nehme, told local media on Tuesday that the wheat in Beirut’s port granaries can not be used and that the ministry lost track of seven employees in the granaries, Reuters reports.

The minister also told local media that Lebanon will import wheat and added that the country currently has enough wheat until they begin importing it.

Updated

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has sent his condolences and says the UN is actively assisting in the response:

The Secretary-General expresses his deepest condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the people and Government of Lebanon, following the horrific explosions in Beirut today. He wishes a speedy recovery to the injured, including several United Nations personnel working in Lebanon.

The United Nations remains committed to supporting Lebanon at this difficult time, and is actively assisting in the response to this incident.

Here is another video of the moment the explosion occurred, posted by AFP journalist Rayane Moussalem:

A ship belonging to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, the UN’s peacekeeping mission to the country, has been damaged in the blast, AFP reports. Some of its personnel are injured.

Another ship moored off the port was on fire, too, according to AFP.

Australian citizen confirmed dead

An Australian has been confirmed dead in the explosion, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports, citing the Prime Minister:

Earlier today, Morrison tweeted his condolences:

Updated

Lebanese president calls for two-week state of emergency

From Reuters:

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said a state of emergency should be declared in Beirut for two weeks after a massive explosion in the capital on Tuesday, and called for an emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Aoun, in remarks published on the Presidency Twitter account, said it was “unacceptable” that 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate was stored in a warehouse for six years without safety measures and vowed that those responsible would face the “harshest punishments”.

Updated

There are reports that up to 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate being stored at Beirut’s port may have exploded today.

Ammonium nitrate is used widely in both fertilisers and explosives.

This, from an Australian state government workplace health and safety website explains why it is so explosive:

Ammonium nitrate does not burn. However, it will support and increase the rate of combustion in the presence of flammable or combustible materials even in the absence of oxygen.

When heated it will melt, decompose and release toxic gases including nitrogen oxides (NOx) and ammonia gas (NH3). When heated excessively (e.g. as in a fire) it can cause an explosion in an enclosed space and closed containers or vessels may rupture violently.

Updated

Death toll climbs to 73, with 3,700 wounded

The death toll from the explosions in Beirut has climbed to 73, according to AFP, citing the Lebanese Health Ministry:

Updated

The US Embassy in Beirut has released a statement advising that people wear masks and stay indoors, following “reports of toxic gases released in the explosion”:

Event: We are closely following reports of an explosion at or near the Port of Beirut on August 4.

We encourage citizens in the affected area(s) to monitor local news, follow the emergency instructions provided by local authorities, enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at step.state.gov to receive important emergency information, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for additional updates. There are reports of toxic gases released in the explosion so all in the area should stay indoors and wear masks if available.

We urge U.S. citizens in the affected areas who are safe to contact their loved ones directly and/or update their status on social media. If you are in the affected area and need immediate emergency services, please contact local authorities; police can be contacted at 112, civil defence at 125, and the Lebanese Red Cross at 140. We urge U.S. citizens to avoid the affected areas/shelter in place and follow the directions of local authorities. The welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad is one of the highest priorities of the Department of State. We will continue to provide information to U.S. citizens in the area through Alerts, our Embassy website, and travel.state.gov. U.S. citizens with verifiable emergencies may contact BeirutACS@state.gov.

Updated

The cause of the explosion is still unconfirmed, but Lebanon’s interior minister has said stores of ammonium nitrate likely caused the blast.

If that is the case, there are some parallels with the 2015 Tianjin explosion in China, which saw a series of massive explosions shatter windows and tear the facades off of buildings.

Here are photographs taken by the Washington Post’s Sarah Dadouch, from the first apartment I lived in in Beirut, on Gouraud Street in the neighbourhood of Gemmayzeh:

Before the coronavirus pandemic, even on a Tuesday night Gouraud was always one of the most vibrant streets in the city:

Here is our video footage of the explosion.

If you are just joining us: two large explosions have devastated Lebanon’s capital city, Beirut. Footage taken in the immediate aftermath shows windows blown out, streets littered with debris and cars upturned by the strength of the blasts. The impact was reportedly felt 200km away in Cyprus:

In terms of what the damage done to Beirut’s port will mean for the country, it is worth remembering that Lebanon has two land borders – one is Syria, and the other is Israel, with which Lebanon is technically at war.

Lebanon also relies heavily on imports for its food supply. The economic crisis has already seen food prices rise by up to 80% in recent months.

On Twitter Tobias Schneider, a researcher at the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin, says that Lebanon relies on imports for 90% of its wheat consumption (wheat is used to make the country’s staple flatbreads), most of which enters through a single terminal:

Hi everyone, my name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest from Beirut for the next while.

As Oliver mentioned, I lived in Lebanon until March this year. My thoughts are with everyone there.

If you are following along from there, please do send footage, news, tips and anything else you feel may be relevant to me on Twitter @helenrsullivan (DMs are open) or via email: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com.

I’m going to hand over now to my colleague, Helen Sullivan. She also lived in Beirut, and just left in March.

Thank you for reading, and if you’re in Beirut, Salamtik.

Updated

What we know so far

  • Two huge explosions have rocked Lebanon’s capital city, killing at least 50 people, injuring thousands more, and sending an enormous blast wave across the city that shattered windows, knocked down doors and shook buildings.
  • The scale of the damage caused by the blast is huge, with buildings miles from the port explosion in ruin.
  • While the cause is still unconfirmed, Lebanon’s interior minister said stores of ammonium nitrate likely caused the explosion.
  • Lebanon’s prime minister, Hassan Diab, has suggested a warehouse that authorities claim was the source of the blast had been the subject of warnings going back to 2014. He said he would “reveal facts” about the warehouse soon, but does not want to pre-empt an investigation.
  • Governments worldwide have offered support, including the UK, France, the US, Canada and Israel.
  • The blast comes at a terrible time for Lebanon, which is on the brink of financial collapse.

Updated

Beirut is a small city, but the scale of the blast is staggering.

I lived there between 2012 and 2015, and I’m hearing accounts of ruined apartments and wounded people miles away from the port blast. It is hard to capture that devastation in photos.

Ghada Alsharif, a reporter from the local Daily Star newspaper, has taken a video of their destroyed office.

Canada too:

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson reiterates the UK’s offer of support.

Relatedly, a former Economist and Sunday Times journalist, Mile Amoore, says the British embassy in Beirut refused to add brother-in-law “to the list”, who he said is Syrian but married to Amoore’s British sister.

Lebanon toll rises to 50 dead, 2,750 wounded

AFP news agency is citing the health ministry with the new figures

Lebanese PM says issues with port warehouse known since 2014

Lebanon’s prime minister, Hassan Diab, has just addressed the country on television. He declared Wednesday a national day of mourning for the victims of the explosion.

The warehouse that authorities claim was the source of the blast had been the subject of warnings going back to 2014, he said.

He would “reveal facts” about the warehouse soon, he said, but does not want to pre-empt an investigation.

“I promise you this catastrophe will not pass without accountability. The people who are responsible will pay a price,” Diab said.

Israel, which is technically still at war with Lebanon, has also offered humanitarian assistance.

The country’s defence minister, Benny Gantz, said Israel approached the Lebanese government through “international security and diplomatic channels”.

More than 25 killed and 2,500 injured, Lebanese health minister says

Hamad Hasan just announced the updated toll in televised remarks.

Updated

World governments are starting to react, with Britain and France offering support.

Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, says aid is on its way.

Dominic Raab, the UK foreign secretary, says London is ready to help.

Video shows a massive explosion rocking central Beirut, shattering windows, knocking down doors and shaking buildings several hundred feet away:

Updated

Abby Sewell, a freelance journalist, says an overwhelmed hospital in east Beirut is treating people in the parking lot.

Updated

A reminder that this blast could not have come at a worse time for Lebanon.

The last story written by our Beirut-based correspondent, Martin Chulov, was about how the country is on the brink of financial collapse.

Coronavirus has compounded longstanding failures of government corruption and financial mismanagement.

Since March, Martin writes, prices of most goods have nearly tripled, while the value of the national currency has fallen by 80% and much of the country has ground to a halt. Those who still have work are surviving month to month.

Marwan Abboud, the governor of Beirut, has arrived at the site of the explosion, where he broke down in tears while speaking to reporters.

He tells a Lebanese journalist that he’s there to search for firefighters who were on the site fighting the fire that broke out before the explosion.

“They came to fight the fire, and then they vanished,” he says. “We don’t know where they are. We’re here to look for them.

“This reminds me of what happened in Japan, to Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” he says. “I’ve never seen damage of this size and width, and so catastrophic. This is a national catastrophe. This is a problem for Lebanon, and we don’t know how we’re going to get out of it.

“This is a lot,” he says. “It’s a lot all at once for people…”

Lebanon's interior minister says ammonium nitrate likely caused explosion

Mohamed Fehmi has just told the MTV Lebanon channel the explosion appeared to have been caused by “huge quantities of ammonium nitrate” being stored at the port.

This backs up what the custom’s director-general was quoted as saying to another Lebanese news channel, Al Mayadeen.

See below some photos of Beirut after the blast:

A helicopter puts out a fire at the scene of an explosion at the port of Lebanon’s capital Beirut.
A helicopter puts out a fire at the scene of an explosion at the port of Lebanon’s capital Beirut. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
A Lebanese army soldier runs at the scene of an explosion at the port of Lebanon’s capital Beirut.
A Lebanese army soldier runs at the scene of an explosion at the port of Lebanon’s capital Beirut. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
The aftermath of a massive explosion is seen in Beirut, Lebanon.
The aftermath of a massive explosion is seen in Beirut, Lebanon. Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AP

Here is some quick analysis from my colleague, Peter Beaumont.

Amid highly conflicting and vague initial explanations over the cause of the Beirut explosion, a few things stand out. Most of the video footage that has been posted on social media, appears to begin with the aftermath of the first of the two explosions.

A tall building is visible in the port area and next to it a fiercely burning fire is occasionally visible through the smoke. Also clear in many of the videos are a series of white flashes just below the main cloud of dark smoke.

One explanation that was quickly given was that these are detonating fireworks from a stored cache being set off by the fire.

Another potential explanation is that this could be ammunition that is being set off and is burning as you would expect to see when ammunition is hit or is being destroyed.

The secondary explosion is more puzzling still. An early explanation was that it involved warehoused nitrates exploding, or other stored “highly explosive material” as claimed by Lebanon’s internal security chief without being more explicit.

One of the most common nitrates in industrial use is ammonium nitrate, used in fertilisers. It is not ordinarily so explosive in its own right.

When it has been used in homemade explosives, by the IRA and Norwegian far right terrorist Anders Breivik among others, it has been mixed with other materials and is often detonated with a small amount of a more conventional explosive.

And slowed down frame by frame, the video on social media shows a second, highly symmetrical blast taking place at ground level all at once, throwing up a wall of dust and then a cloud into the air and tremendous speed. It suggests the release of a huge amount of energy which in turn creates a devastating pressure wave that carries debris over a least a kilometre.

None of which is to say that this is not a terrible accident involving a freak coincidence of circumstances. The 1947 Galveston fire in Texas involved a ship carrying nitrates and a fire that released other materials into a deadly explosive mix that killed over 500 people.

Updated

Israeli officials have denied involvement in the Beirut port explosion.

“Israel has nothing to do with the incident,” the official said on condition of anonymity, according to Reuters.

The country’s foreign minister, Gabi Ashkenazi, told Israeli N12 television news that the explosion was most likely an accident caused by a fire.

Tensions have been high this week following a cross-border confrontation between Israel and the Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah.

Here’s our story from last week:

The huge scale of the blast is becoming apparent as more photos show damage in many areas Beirut, some of which are far away from the port.

Beirut’s airport, for example, is 10 km (6 miles) away, but this photo from the Dubai-based news website, Al-Aan, shows extensive damage.

Lebanese Red Cross says 'hundreds of casualties', including dead and wounded

The Associated Press is quoting Lebanese Red Cross official Georges Kettaneh as saying there are “hundreds of casualties” in Beirut, including dead and wounded.

Rumble of Beirut explosion felt in Cyprus

That is 234 km (145 miles) away.

My colleague Michael Safi just spoke to a resident there in the city of Larnaca.

“Everyone in Cyprus felt it,” said the person, who asked to be referred to only by his first name, George. “The door was shaking in my house. In Larnaca, they heard it and felt it … It was so loud we thought it happened here. My house was shaking.”

This map shows the location of the blast at Beirut’s port:

Site of Beirut blast

A doctor at St Joseph’s hospital, less than 2km (1.2 miles) from the blast, said dozens of injured people were being brought for treatment but were unable to be received because the hospital had been destroyed.

“They’re bringing people to the hospital but we can’t treat them,” he said. “They’re leaving them outside in the street. The hospital is broken, the ER is broken.”

Hospitals in Beirut need blood to deal with the influx of casualties.

See below a callout from Yara Khaweja, who works form the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The Lebanese Red Cross is also requesting only people in “critical or severe cases” to call their emergency number.

At least 10 people feared dead

Reuters is now quoting Lebanese security and medical sources as saying at least ten people have been killed in the blast. That figure is a preliminary report, so it is likely to be updated.

Updated

My colleague in the city, Martin Chulov, has just sent me the below in an email:

The streets of East Beirut lay in apocalyptic ruin even four kilometres from the epicentre of the blast. Every building in between had lost some if not all of its windows. Huge shards of glass covered roads, some jagged pieces had ripped through cars. Trees were shredded, and pools of blood were commonplace. Blood trails lead to cars, and motorbikes that had sped the injured away to clinics or hospitals that could not cope with the dead and maimed.

Walking down through the east Beirut suburb of Ashrafiyeh to Gemmayze and towards the port, the devastation was even more comprehensive. Dozens of buildings had clearly suffered structural damage. Weeks of sustained artillery shelling could surely not cause the same amount of ruin.

Men, women and children walked bewildered from somewhere near ground zero. Few were hurrying. Few could get past the debris if they tried. It takes a lot to shake Beirut, which has risen and fallen under bombs before. But in a city inured to explosions, this was something new.

Reuters news agency has a live feed of the blast site. It shows wreckage hundreds of metres around, with car alarms sounding in the background. It is now getting close to 8 pm in the city.

Updated

Here is another video from a different angle, apparently taken on a boat in the sea.

In the footage, you can hear a man shouting “go! go!” in Arabic as the boat speeds away from the blast.

Please bear in mind that this is a developing event and very little has been confirmed.

Videos posted on Twitter show what appears to be smoke, possibly from an initial blast, and then a second, giant explosion that reverberates across the city.

Massive explosion rocks Beirut

Hello,

Oliver Holmes here. You will have seen reports of the massive explosion at Beirut’s central port that has been felt far across the city. We will be following live developments here. The scale of the blast and its effects are still being assessed. Many are feared injured.

Read here the full report by my colleague, Michael Safi:

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