Lebanon, Beirut explosion kills 78, leaves many injured
A massive explosion has killed at least 78 people and injured thousands in Beruit, Lebanon.
According to New York Times, the government had stored ammonium nitrate, used in both fertilizer and explosives at the Beirut explosion site.
Extensive damage was reported around the city and hospitals were overwhelmed with victims.
The injured are still trooping into the hospitals and the search for the missing continues.
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According to the news agency, the secretary general of the Kataeb political party, Nizar Najarian was killed in the blast, and among those injured was Kamal Hayek, chairman of the state-owned power company. He is in critical condition.
The video, posted online, shows injured people bleeding, dust and debris. On social media, people reported damage to houses and cars away from the port.
The Lebanese Red Cross said every available ambulance from northern Lebanon, Bekaa and southern Lebanon was being sent to Beirut explosion area to help patients.
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Hospitals are so overwhelmed that they are turning injured people away, including American University Hospitals. Patients were transferred to hospitals outside Beirut because of the city hospitals were full.
Public Health Minister Hamad Hassan announced that his ministry would cover the cost of treating the injured in hospitals, according to the National News Agency. It said the decision covered both hospitals that have contracts with the ministry, as well as those that do not.
According to the National News Agency, Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced that National Mourning Day would be observed on Wednesday for those who lost their life in the Beirut explosion. The Lebanese presidency said on Twitter that President Michel Aoun had instructed the army to help in response, and called an emergency meeting of the Supreme Defense Council, which declared Beirut a disaster area.
Earlier Tuesday, United state president Donald Trump offered sympathy and help to the Lebanese people in the aftermath of the Beruit explosion, which killed dozens and injured thousands, calling the incident a “terrible attack.”
The US generals had told Trump that it looked like “some kind of manufacturing explosion,” but he insisted it was an attack.
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