Beirut blast death toll reaches 113, over 4,000 injured
Aug 05, 2020
Beirut [Lebanon], Aug 5 (Sputnik/ANI): The powerful blast in the port of Lebanon's Beirut left 113 people killed and more than 4,000 injured, Lebanese Health Minister Hamad Hassan said on Wednesday, as cited by Sky News Arabia.
Earlier in the day, the Health Minister's adviser, Reda Al Moussawi, told Sputnik that the death toll from the blast stood at 108.
Beirut has already received humanitarian assistance from Kuwait, Qatar and Greece, Al Moussawi said, adding that the authorities were waiting for aid from other countries, including Russia, France, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
"Greece has sent a medical team with health equipment to help treat those injured," Al Moussawi added, noting that the authorities were now studying Tunisia's offer to treat a number of victims in its hospitals.
A large number of the world's countries, including Lebanon's Middle East neighbours, have already offered their assistance to Beirut and extended their condolences over the tragic incident.
Half of the city's buildings have been severely damaged, and hospitals are overcrowded because of a large number of the blast's victims, according to Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud.
Lebanon declared a two-week state of emergency in the capital of Beirut devastated by an explosion in the port, media reported on Wednesday, citing Information Minister Manal Abdessamad.
Earlier in the day, Abboud said that around 300,000 people became homeless.
According to the Lebanese authorities, the blast was likely to have been caused by the detonation of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that was stored improperly in a warehouse for six years. (Sputnik/ANI)
