A massive explosion shook Beirut on Tuesday, killing at least 10 people and leaving dozens of others injured amid the widespread damage spread across Lebanon’s capital.
At least 10 people have died as a result of the explosion, Lebanese security officials told 360aproko News. The cause of the explosion remains unclear. The Lebanese Red Cross tweeted that more than 30 teams were responding to the scene of the blast via ambulances.
The afternoon blast shook several parts of the capital and thick smoke billowed from the city center. Residents reported windows being blown out and balconies and ceilings collapsing. The explosion appeared to be centered around Beirut’s port and caused wide-scale destruction and shattered windows miles away.
PHOTOS: HUGE EXPLOSIONS ROCK BEIRUT WITH WIDESPREAD DAMAGE, INJURIES
“I saw a fireball and smoke billowing over Beirut. People were screaming and running, bleeding. Balconies were blown off buildings. Glass in high-rise buildings shattered and fell to the street,” one unnamed witness told Reuters.
“We are aware of the explosion and are concerned for the potential loss of life due to such a massive explosion,” Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said in a statement to 360aproko News.
The cause of the blast is under investigation but Hezbollah is already in the limelight, multiple intelligence sources told 360aproko News.
“There are cars with dead people in the streets under rubble, and the medical infrastructure was already at full speed due to the pandemic and lack of supplies,” one source in the region said.
Another source told 360aproko News that the port was unofficially controlled by Hezbollah, thus pointing out that other adverse players in the region could have played a role.
Lebanon’s Health Minister Hamad Hasan told local broadcaster LBC that the explosion in central Beirut had caused a “very high number of injuries” and extensive damage.
The explosion happened just days before a United Nations tribunal is expected to issue its verdict on four alleged Hezbollah members accused of killing former Lebanon Prime Minister Rafic Hariri in a 2005 car bombing on the Beirut seafront, 360aproko reported.
photographer near the port witnessed people wounded on the ground and widespread destruction in central Beirut. Some local televisions stations reported the blast originated inside an area where firecrackers were stored.
Some reports said there might have been a second blast Tuesday across the city near the Hariri family residence.
