Beirut explosion: Frantic search for survivors of deadly blast
BBC International News 1 minute read
Rescue workers in Lebanon are searching for more than a hundred people who are missing after a huge explosion devastated the port area of the capital Beirut on Tuesday.
The blast killed at least 100 people and injured more than 4,000 others.
The whole city was shaken by the explosion and a mushroom cloud could be seen spreading over the port area.
President Michel Aoun said the blast was caused by 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely in a warehouse.
Ammonium nitrate is used as a fertiliser in agriculture and as an explosive.
President Aoun convened an emergency cabinet meeting and declared three days of mourning which started on Wednesday.
The explosion occurred just after 18:00 (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday after a fire at the port.
Eyewitness Hadi Nasrallah says that he saw the fire but did not expect the blast. "I lost my hearing for a few seconds, I knew something was wrong, and then suddenly the glass just shattered all over the car, the cars around us, the shops, the stores, the buildings. Just glass going down from all over the building," he told the BBC.