Massive blast rips through Beirut, killing 78 and injuring thousands

A security source said victims were taken for treatment outside the city because Beirut hospitals were overwhelmed with wounded. Ambulances from the north and south of the country and the Bekaa valley to the east were called in to help.
A powerful blast in port warehouses near central Beirut storing highly explosive material killed 78 people, injured nearly 4,000, and sent seismic shockwaves that shattered windows, smashed masonry, and shook the ground across the Lebanese capital.

Officials said they expected the death toll to rise further after Tuesday's blast as emergency workers dug through rubble to rescue people and remove the dead. It was the most powerful explosion in years in Beirut, which is already reeling from an economic crisis and a surge in coronavirus infections.

President Michel Aoun said that 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, used in fertilizers and bombs, had been stored for six years at the port without safety measures, and said it was "unacceptable".

He called for an emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday and said a two-week state of emergency should be declared.