Updated: Over 70 Killed, Nearly 4000 Injured as Horror Chemical Explosion Tears Through Lebanese Capital

Ololade Adeyanju/

A massive chemical explosion in the Lebanese capital of Beirut has killed at least 73 people, left thousands more injured.  

The country’s health minister said more than 3,700 have been wounded following the blast at the city’s industrial port, where hazardous chemicals are stored in warehouses.

Dramatic footage from around 6pm local time shows smoke billowing from the harbour area shortly before an enormous fireball explodes into the sky and covers the city in a thick cloud.

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Witnesses likened the blast, which was heard 125 miles away in Cyprus, to a “nuclear bomb”.

The impact reportedly levelled the immediate surrounding buildings and even caused extensive damage on districts kilometres away from the blast site. 

General Security chief, Abbas Ibrahim, said, “It appears that there is a warehouse containing material that was confiscated years ago, and it appears that it was highly explosive material.”   

Lebanon’s interior minister said ammonium nitrate had been stored in the warehouse since 2014, with experts agreeing that the chemical would cause the red plume of smoke which burst up from the blast.

Local media are reporting that 2,700 tonnes of the chemical exploded, causing a “strange smell” at the port which has led officials to instruct civilians to leave for fear of any harmful toxins.

Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, vowed in a televised address that “those responsible for this catastrophe will pay the price,” and declared tomorrow a day of national mourning.  

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