A massive explosion ripped through the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, injuring many people and blowing out windows in buildings across the city, CNN reports.
The source of the explosion was initially believed to be a major fire at a warehouse for firecrackers near the port in Beirut, the state-run National News Agency reported.
JUST IN: Massive explosion in #Beirut, Lebanon at a building housing fireworks. Details later… pic.twitter.com/NrmUJEOOYI
— Nigerian Tribune (@nigeriantribune) August 4, 2020
The blast sent up a huge mushroom cloud-like shockwave and damaged buildings miles from the port, including the headquarters of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and CNN’s bureau in downtown Beirut.
A red cloud hung over the city in the wake of the explosion as firefighting teams rushed to the scene to try to put out the fire. Large numbers of people were wounded in the blast, authorities said, and footage from the scene captured the injured staggering through streets in the capital.
#Beirut #Lebanon 💥💨 pic.twitter.com/pFXvDeKAgF
— Best Tweet (@BestTweet___) August 4, 2020
The country’s health minister ordered all hospitals in the area to prepare to receive injuries.
Homes as far as 10 kilometers away were damaged, according to witnesses. One Beirut resident who was several kilometers away from the site of the blast said her windows had been shattered by the explosion. “What I felt was that it was an earthquake,” Rania Masri told CNN.
“The apartment shook horizontally and all of a sudden it felt like an explosion and the windows and doors burst open. The glass just broke. So many homes were damaged or destroyed.”
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
$3.313bn Chinese Loans: Nigeria Pays $461m, Still Owes $3.12bn
DESPITE paying the sum of $461.89million (about 13.4 per cent ) of the $3.313billion debt (Chinese loans) owed the Peoples Republic of China, the outstanding (Chinese loans) against Nigeria is still $3.12billion (about 94 per cent), a document from the Debt Management Office has revealed…
$500m Loan: Review All Foreign Loan Agreements, PDD Tells NASS
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged the National Assembly to begin a review of all agreements in foreign loans entered into by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government…
MONDAY LINES: ‘Mamman Daura Seeks Competence’
Leader of the ‘unseen’ persons ruling us, Alhaji Mamman Daura, spoke last week. He said enough of turn-by-turn presidency for Nigeria. He decreed that North-South rotation of the presidency of Nigeria should be dead; from 2023, the most competent among contenders would be put in the Presidential Villa…
Pastor Olukoya, Awolowo And Eternal Life
There is a viral audio online in which the General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), Pastor Daniel Olukoya, suggested that Papa, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, “did not fulfill his destiny” of becoming the president of Nigeria because he “never surrendered his life to Jesus till he…
Order Buhari To Publish Details Of Govt Loans Since 2015, SERAP Tasks Court
THE Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked the Federal High Court, Abuja to order President Muhammadu Buhari to “publish details of loans that have been obtained by the government since May 29, 2015, including the interest rate, the total amount of debts so far incurred by this…
NDIC To Revoke Licences Of 37 Weak Microfinance Banks
THE Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), is set to revoke licences of 37 microfinance banks (MFBs), due to their inability to meet necessary regulatory conditions…
and then