A series of photos sent by thee EPA photographer Wael Hamzeh in Beirut of the aftermath of massive blast in Beirut Tuesday afternoon.
According to media reports, at least 100 people were killed and more than 4,000 were injured after an explosion, caused by over 2,500 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse, devastated the port area on 04 August.
Officials said the toll was expected to rise after the blast at port warehouses that stored highly explosive material. The explosion was the most powerful ever to rip through Beirut, a city still scarred by civil war three decades ago and reeling from an economic meltdown and a surge in coronavirus infections.
President Michel Aoun said 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, used in fertilisers and bombs, had been stored for six years at the port without safety measures. He called it “unacceptable”.
An official source familiar with preliminary investigations blamed the incident on negligence. Ordinary Lebanese directed anger at politicians who have overseen decades of state corruption and bad governance that plunged the nation into financial crisis.
See also: Initial investigations point to negligence as cause of Beirut blast
Via Reuters/ EPA-EFE/WAEL HAMZEH
