[Update] Horrific Lebanon Explosions Killed At Least 78 People, Injured 4,000 More Within Minutes

Yesterday, several explosions destroyed Beirut with many eyewitnesses able to record the unfortunate event.

Within 30 minutes, the two Lebanon explosions happened, one of which was at the port and the other was inside Beirut. At least 78 people were killed and about 4,000 were injured in the incident.

Update 06/08/2020: The death toll has increased to 135 and counting with at least 5,000 people injured. The damage is estimated to be $5 billion and around 300,000 people are left homeless.

The second explosion was much larger and wiped a wide area, generating a shock wave that knocked buildings and people down, overturned cars, enveloped much of the city in dust and smoke. The explosion was felt by people even 200 kilometers away from the spot.

Injured people were rushed to local hospitals on foot or carried by family members and friends while cars couldn’t get through the street and ambulance services were overloaded.

According to the government, highly explosive materials were stored where the explosions happened, with a lot of churches, hospitals, and universities situated nearby. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s health minister said that a ship that carried fireworks exploded in the city port. Until now, whether this incident was accidental or intentional remains an unanswered question.

Update 12:43 PM, it was stated by President Michel Aoun that 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate fuel the explosion. This amount had been stored for six years at the port with no safety measures. While officials didn't comment on what caused Lebanon explosions, a security source said that the explosion happened due to welding work that was performed on a hole inside the warehouse.

Following the two large explosions, several smaller ones were reported from the city port, which likely preceded the main blast.

A local newspaper’s offices located 400 meters from the port were heavily damaged under the force of the Lebanon explosions. At the same time, local houses from 10 kilometers away suffered from the explosions, with one resident reporting that the shockwave shattered her windows. Within minutes, a large part of the city turned from a normal, living state into a complete mess. Just when you think 2020 can't get any worse, it threw us another surprise.

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