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Beirut explosion: at least 78 dead and 4,000 wounded, says Lebanon health ministry – live updates Beirut explosion: at least 78 dead and 4,000 wounded, says Lebanon health ministry – live updates
(32 minutes later)
Interior minister says ammonium nitrate likely caused at least one explosion amid reports hospitals too damaged to treat patientsInterior minister says ammonium nitrate likely caused at least one explosion amid reports hospitals too damaged to treat patients
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
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.
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.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.“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: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: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: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.From Encyclopaedia Britannica, which lists the death toll from that disaster at between 400 and 600 people.
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.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.
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has sent his condolences and says the UN is actively assisting in the response:United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has sent his condolences and says the UN is actively assisting in the response:
Here is another video of the moment the explosion occurred, posted by AFP journalist Rayane Moussalem: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.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.Another ship moored off the port was on fire, too, according to AFP.
An Australian has been confirmed dead in the explosion, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports, citing the Prime Minister:
Earlier today, Morrison tweeted his condolences:
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”.
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:
The death toll from the explosions in Beirut has climbed to 73, according to AFP, citing the Lebanese Health Ministry:
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”.:
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.