300,000 People Flee Homes due to Lebanese Port Explosion

Marwan Abboud, Governor of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, confirmed that 300,000 people have left their homes in and uptown Beirut due to the massive explosion that hit the city's port yesterday.

Abboud inspected the location of the explosion in the port, revealing the loss of contact with members of the Beirut Fire Brigade at the site of the fire.

Abboud indicated that Beirut is afflicted and there is great destruction and what happened is unprecedented.

Since the early morning hours, firefighting and civil defense teams have been continuing to remove debris at the port of Beirut and its surroundings in search of victims of the massive explosion that rocked it yesterday evening.

Initial information indicates that dozens of missing persons are still under the rubble of buildings, some of which have been completely destroyed, while health authorities have recorded so far more than 100 people killed and about 4,000 injured.

Correspondents of news agencies indicated that the fire renewed from time to time at the site of the explosion.

Rescue crews are continuing search at the site of the explosion to save dozens of missing persons.

The Secretary-General of the Lebanese Red Cross, George Kettana, confirmed today that there are 100 martyrs and more than 4000 wounded so far as an outcome of the mega explosion.

Kettana warned that the declared number of causalities is not final and can rise.

Kettana said that 75 ambulances were brought to evacuate the injured yesterday, and the disaster is unprecedented and very large.

He explained that the area of ​​Mar Mikhael and Gemayzeh has been completely cleared, while the second survey that is being carried out in the meantime is for the port area, stressing that "the army's naval base coordinated with the Lebanese Red Cross to save 11 casualties from UNIFIL who were on board a ship through marine corvettes."

He pointed out that some of the victims are now being transferred to hospitals outside Beirut.

A massive explosion rocked the port of Beirut, which, according to preliminary statistics, killed more than 70 people and wounded more than 4000, dozens of missing persons, in addition to severe material damage.

"A big fire broke out in Amber No. 12 near the wheat storage silos in the Beirut port, in a warehouse for firecrackers. Strong explosions were heard in the place, which reverberated in the capital and the suburbs," the Lebanese News Agency said.

The Agency noted that the fire brigades rushed to the place and worked on putting out the flames.

The Director General of the Lebanese Customs later announced that nitrate was the cause of the huge explosion at the Beirut port.

The "National Information Agency" reported that the number of casualties is countless and that the Red Cross teams are working to help the injured and transport them to hospitals.

The army and security forces are also working to facilitate the movement of traffic to make way for ambulances and civil defense to move.

The Red Cross announced that more than 30 teams are responding to the aid of the injured after the explosion at the bomb squad in Beirut Port.

Lebanese media reported that "the explosion occurred at the entrance to the center of Beirut, which is the residence of former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and its echoes were heard throughout the capital."

On the other hand, the Lebanese "OTV" channel quoted sources close to Hezbollah denying what is being circulated about an Israeli strike on Hezbollah weapons in Beirut port.

Hospitals in the capital, Beirut, have been crowded after receiving dozens of critical cases.

For his part, the Director General of the Lebanese General Security, Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, said that "the talk about fireworks is ridiculous",.

Ibrahim stressed that he will not anticipate the investigations, adding that: "It appears that the explosion occurred in a store of high explosive materials confiscated for years."