An Irish woman living in Beirut said she is lucky to be alive after being thrown across a coffee shop just metres from the massive explosion that killed over 70 people.
The Lebanese city was rocked by the blast yesterday afternoon as 2,750 tonnes of highly explosive ammonium nitrate stored in a city centre warehouse blew up.
Laois native Niamh Fleming-Farrell was with a pal grabbing a bottle of wine from the bookshop and café she owns just a few streets away when the blast hit.
She said: “We were standing there when we heard a sound which sounded to me like the sound barrier being broken.”
“I walked toward the door like an idiot to see what it was and then obviously the second blast hit and I was thrown backwards.”
The shaken business owner said ‘half the city’ has been destroyed by the explosion, which was felt as far away as Cyprus.
Speaking to RTE Radio One’s News at One programme this afternoon Niamh said: “It’s incredible how far this thing has extended.
“Every single building and shop has had windows, shutters blown off."
