One resident tweeted, “Buildings are shaking,” while another wrote: “An enormous, deafening explosions just engulfed Beirut. Heard it from miles away.”
Lebanese capital Beirut experienced two enormous explosions, that rocked the Lebanese capital’s port on Tuesday, killing and wounding dozens of people, shaking buildings and sending huge plumes of smoke billowing into the Beirut sky.
An enormous orange fireball that dwarfed nearby buildings and sent a devastating tornado-like shockwave ripping through the city could be seen in the video footage of the second blast.
“We heard an explosion, then we saw the mushroom,” one resident told, who witnessed the second, deafening explosion from her balcony in the city’s Mansourieh district, according to Hindustan Times.
“The force of the blast threw us backwards into the apartment,” she further said.
Though the cause of the massive blast was not known immediately, Lebanese media carried images of people trapped under rubble, many bloodied, after the massive blasts.
One soldier at the port told news agency AFP, “It’s a catastrophe inside. There are corpses on the ground. Ambulances are still lifting the dead.”
According to AFP correspondent, every shop in the Hamra commercial district had sustained damage, with entire storefronts destroyed, windows shattered and many cars wrecked.
A more clear view of the explosion. #beirut pic.twitter.com/74NgZWvRL0
— Zainab Hijazi (@zainabhijazii) August 4, 2020
Dozens of wounded people, many covered in blood were rushing to be admitted to the Clemenceau Medical Centre, while injured people were walking in the street, including children.
Cars were abandoned after they were destroyed in the street with their airbags inflated.
One resident tweeted, “Buildings are shaking,” while another wrote: “An enormous, deafening explosion just engulfed Beirut. Heard it from miles away.”
Blown out windows, scattered furniture and demolished interior panelling were seen in online footage from a Lebanese newspaper office.
The explosion comes at a time when Lebanon suffers its worst economic crisis in decades which has left nearly half of the population in poverty.
The Lebanese economy has collapsed in recent months, with the local currency plummeting against the dollar, shutting down businesses and shooting up the poverty.
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