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Death toll in Lebanese capital rises to 135 as about 5,000 people are wounded – as it happened

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Before and after: drone footage shows devastation caused by Beirut explosion – video

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Closing Summary

Oliver Holmes
Oliver Holmes

We are closing this blog now. It has been an incredibly painful 24+ hours for Beirut, which remains in ruin and plunged into uncertainty.

Here are the main developments:

  • The Lebanese government has declared a two-week state of emergency after two huge explosions on Tuesday killed at least 135 people and injured around 5,000.
  • Prime Minister Hassan Diab said the cause of the explosion was 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a common industrial chemical used in fertiliser and as a component in mining explosives.
  • An initial investigation has reportedly found years of inaction and “negligence” around the removal of the ammonium nitrate is to blame for the blast.
  • The European Union has activated its civil protection system to round up emergency workers and equipment from member states. Governments worldwide have sent support, including Kuwait, Norway and Australia.
  • Beirut’s governor, Marwan Abboud, has said the damage from the port blast has extended over half of the city, with the cost of damage likely above $3bn.
  • Rescuers continue to search for victims who remain trapped under rubble. In one video shared on Wednesday, a search team can be heard clapping and cheering as a survivor is pulled to safety.
  • Residents, desperate to reach their loved ones, have been sharing pictures of missing relatives, as well as phone numbers online.
  • Hospitals, several of which were damaged in the blast, have been inundated with patients. In the Gemmayze district, medical teams were forced to triage patients in a car park, while the Red Cross said it is coordinating with the Lebanese health ministry to set up morgues.
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A Russian plane carrying relief teams, doctors and medical equipment has landed in Beirut, according to the Associated Press.

The aircraft has delivered a mobile hospital along with 50 emergency workers and medical personnel, it said, citing Russia’s Ministry for Emergencies. Another three Russian flights are scheduled to arrive within the next 24 hours. They will carry equipment for a coronavirus testing lab and protective gear, among other relief supplies.

Jessica Elgot
Jessica Elgot

More details from my colleague, Jessica, on the UK aid:

The Foreign Office has released details of aid the British government will send to Lebanon, including up to £5m in emergency humanitarian funding, announced earlier by Dominic Raab, as well as deploying search and rescue experts with specially trained dogs to help find those caught up in the blast.

Raab, who spoke with prime minister Diab, said the UK would provide tailored medical help, strategic air transport assistance, and engineering and communications support. The UK offered to send an emergency clinical advisory team who could provide initial assessment and coordination with search and rescue teams.

“This was a devastating explosion which has caused enormous suffering and damage,” Raab said. “The UK is a long-standing friend of Lebanon and the Lebanese people, and will stand with them in their hour of need.”

Britain will transfer up to £5 million to Beirut and is “poised” to send search and rescue help and expert medical support, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has told reporters.

“Obviously we want to make sure we’ve got exactly what is tailored towards the Lebanese needs, that is why I’ve just spoken to the [Lebanese] prime minister,” he said. Raab added the number of UK nationals who had possibly been killed or injured in the explosion is yet to be known.

Cities around the world have been lighting up their buildings with the red, white and green colours of the Lebanese flag.

Here’s the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai:

The world’s tallest building Burj Khalifa lits up in Lebanese flag colors in solidarity with its people after the horrific Beirut port explosions#BeirutBlast #Beirut pic.twitter.com/jLTftMl5Zo

— حسن سجواني 🇦🇪 Hassan Sajwani (@HSajwanization) August 4, 2020

City Hall in Belfast:

City Hall will be illuminated in the colours of the Lebanese flag tonight in solidarity with the people of Beirut #BelfastLightsAtNight pic.twitter.com/Xg2LMgVfi1

— Belfast City Council (@belfastcc) August 5, 2020

The Sheraton in Doha:

Beirut blast: Sheraton Grand Doha lights up in solidarity with Lebanon

Iconic building is illuminated with the Lebanese flag following Tuesday's explosions.#Qatar #SheratonDoha #BeirutExplosion #Lebanon #PrayForLebanon #QatarDay pic.twitter.com/x1pugChR4Q

— Qatar Day- Pulse of Nation (@qatarday) August 5, 2020

And even City Hall in Tel Aviv:

Live from Tel Aviv: A rare moment of solidarity 🇮🇱🇱🇧 (📸: @TelAviv) pic.twitter.com/SeAI8iZc69

— Noa Landau נעה לנדאו (@noa_landau) August 5, 2020

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon has postponed a Friday verdict in the trial over the 2005 bombing that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

Now, the landmark ruling for four accused men will be delayed until 18 August, following the huge explosion in Beirut. It has been a source of immense friction in Lebanon.

What we know so far

Beirut explosion: scores dead and thousands hurt as blast rips through city – video report
  • The European Union has activated its civil protection system to round up emergency workers and equipment from member states. Governments worldwide have sent support, including Kuwait, Norway and Australia.
  • Beirut’s governor, Marwan Abboud, has said the damage from the port blast has extended over half of the city, with the cost of damage likely above $3bn.
  • Rescuers have continued to search for victims who remain trapped under rubble. In one video shared on Wednesday, a search team can be heard clapping and cheering as a survivor is pulled to safety.
  • Residents, desperate to reach their loved ones, are sharing pictures of missing relatives, as well as phone numbers online.
'It's a catastrophe': Beirut residents and mayor react to deadly blast – video
  • Hospitals, several of which were damaged in the blast, have been inundated with patients. In Gemmayze district, medical teams were forced to triage patients in a car park, while the Red Cross said it is coordinating with the Lebanese health ministry to set up morgues.
  • Aerial images from the scene of the explosion illustrate the impact of the blast, which destroyed crucial silos that contained around 85% of the country’s grain. Lebanon’s economy minister, Raoul Nehme, said the wheat in Beirut’s port granaries cannot be used and that the ministry lost track of seven employees in the granaries.
Before and after: drone footage shows devastation caused by Beirut explosion – video
Julian Borger
Julian Borger

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has spoken with Prime Minister Hassan Diab, Washington said in a statement.

“Secretary Pompeo expressed his condolences to the Lebanese people for the horrible explosion at the Beirut port, which killed and injured so many and caused devastating destruction to the city,” it said.

“The Secretary reaffirmed our steadfast commitment to assist the Lebanese people as they cope with the aftermath of this terrifying event. Secretary Pompeo further stressed our solidarity with and support for the Lebanese people as they strive for the dignity, prosperity, and security they deserve.”

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Molly Blackall
Molly Blackall

My colleague, Molly, has heard from a Beirut resident, who has given a distressing account of the minutes after the blast:

Timi, who was injured when the explosion wrecked the house she and her fiancé were inside, said the blast “was like a warzone movie”, and that she “really thought [she] was going to die”.

“We heard the first sonic boom - it was actually a smaller explosion but sounded like a sonic boom - and I knew something was deeply wrong,” she said. Timi, who lives in the Achrafieh district of Beirut, said she grabbed her fiancé seconds before “everything exploded around us”.

“We get blasted from the couch with glass and doors flying all around us. We were in an old Lebanese house next to hospital St George in Geitawi, the house was totalled,” she said. “I really thought I was going to die.”

Timi said she “huddled in the corner of the room”, which was covered with glass and blood, and began to pray. “I never pray, but I didn’t know what else to do to calm down,” she said.

“My fiancé’s mother was bleeding profusely, I also had gotten a cut on my arm from the broken glass. We were in complete shock and fear,” she said. “We wandered out of the house like lost ghosts. Going nowhere and mumbling and trembling, covered in dust and blood.

“It was unreal. It felt like I was in a bad dream where I was on mute and I couldn’t help anyone or myself,” Timi added. “Complete mental shock and disorientation. I didn’t take pictures because I was still under shock at the time, but at least we were overall ok (no major injuries). Some people were wounded very badly in the hospital. My heart goes out to them and their families.”

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Death toll rises to 135 killed, around 5,000 wounded - Lebanese TV

Lebanese news channel, Al Manar TV, is quoting the country’s health minister as saying the toll has now risen, with tens of people still missing.

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More and more shocking videos of the blast and its effects are coming in. BBC Arabic journalist, Maryem Taoumi, was filming an interview when the shockwave hit.

BBC Arabic journalist Maryem Taoumi was conducting an interview when the explosion in Beirut took place

She was knocked over by the force of the blast but is safe

Warning: Contains upsetting scenes https://t.co/xdMWMBsOWJ pic.twitter.com/53dGzkXNEr

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) August 5, 2020
Ellie Violet Bramley

This video of a woman in Beirut playing Auld Lang Syne on the piano in her blasted-out living room is being circulated online.

Video of elderly Lebanese woman at her home playing the piano while surrounded by broken glass and rubble, captures the spirit or #Beirut.

This city doesn’t give up and keeps rising from the ashes: pic.twitter.com/FUp1fuTGQK

— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) August 5, 2020

The government has also approved the spending of 100bn Lebanese pounds to deal with the crisis. That is worth around $13m (nearly £10m) as the unofficial exchange rate has gone into a virtual freefall.

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Lebanon declares two-week state of emergency in Beirut

The Lebanese government has declared a two-week state of emergency, effectively giving the military full powers in the capital.

The government announced the measure during a cabinet meeting, according to the Associated Press.

It confirmed earlier reports that the government was putting an unspecified number of Beirut port officials under house arrest pending an investigation into how 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate came to be stored at the port for years.

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Here are two astonishing videos from the blast.

The first captures a priest ducking from what appears to be plummeting stained glass windows.

Beirut explosion: priest dodges falling debris as shockwave hits church during mass – video

This one, meanwhile, shows a bride posing as the shockwave hits the area.

Footage shows moment Beirut explosion hits as bride poses for photographs – video

Another charity working in Lebanon, Islamic Relief, has warned that the country was already in a very precarious position before Tuesday’s blast.

“This is yet another tragedy for a country that is already deep in crisis on multiple fronts,” said Nidal Ali, the group’s Lebanon director.

“The economy is the worst it has been in decades, with nearly half the population living below the poverty line and 35% of people out of work. Many of Lebanon’s population are refugees who have struggled for a long time. But now even middle-class families have been fighting to put food on the table. For nearly a year, all people have been concerned with is, ‘how am I going to eat tomorrow?’”

He adds: “In October last year, we had to put all our long-term programmes on hold and prioritise food parcels as the economic crisis became a humanitarian emergency.

“This was all before the coronavirus pandemic brought the world to a standstill earlier this year. Lebanon has seen a spike in cases over recent weeks, and hospitals are overrun.”

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More on this story

More on this story

  • Beirut explosion inquiry in chaos as judges row and suspects released

  • Lebanon's caretaker PM and ex-ministers charged over Beirut blast

  • ‘The pain gets worse’: Lebanese mark second anniversary of Beirut port explosion

  • Beirut's destroyed clubbing district: 'I don't know how we will recover'

  • Silos damaged in 2020 Beirut port explosion partly collapse after fire

  • Six dead as Beirut gripped by worst street violence in 13 years

  • Beirut rescuers give up after sensors gave false hopes of more survivors

  • Beirut explosion devastates Sursock Palace and Museum – in pictures

  • If ever there was a moment for change in Lebanon, this must surely be it

  • A city in need of miracles: few glimmers of hope in Beirut's reconstruction effort

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