Beirut Explosion Kills at Least 100, Injures Thousands - WSJ

Lebanon’s health minister had earlier Wednesday said nearly 80 people died and around 4000 people were wounded because of the explosion, but added that the toll was likely to rise because of the number of missing people.

Hours after the incident,  Prime Minister Hassan Diab  said those responsible would be held accountable.
President Trump called it a “terrible attack” and said U.S. military leaders believe the explosion was caused by “a bomb of some kind.” However, an official with Lebanon’s army said that the blast was likely caused by a fire and wasn’t an attack.

Three firefighters were killed in the blast, according to Brig. Gen. Raymond Khattar, Lebanon’s Civil Defense chief. Three civil defense members were wounded.

Search-and-rescue operations continue and Lebanon has dispatched divers and boats to check for casualties in the waters surrounding the port.

Mr. Khattar suspects that people remain trapped under the grain silos in the port. “We cannot approach them yet because we are afraid the building might collapse,” he said.

Teams from France, Russia, Greece, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands will assist Lebanon in its search-and-rescue missions, according to Mr. Khattar.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter that he would go to Beirut on Thursday to express “the French people’s message of fraternity and solidarity” and to meet political authorities.

Near the epicenter of the blast, people gathered to survey the damage, taking photographs of mangled warehouses and the damaged silos. An alarm was still ringing.

“It’s a second Hiroshima,” said Tony, a 55-year-old taxi driver, his eyes full of tears.

Lebanese soldiers search for survivors Wednesday after the explosion.

PHOTO:   HASSAN AMMAR/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Videos of the blast posted on social media showed smoke billowing from the warehouse on the waterfront before a massive explosion produced a giant orange mushroom cloud over the city. It was yet another trauma for Beirut residents who have survived wars and numerous bombings. They now face the challenge of rebuilding at a time of strained resources due to  the coronavirus pandemic .

Lebanon is reeling from multiple crises in recent months, ranging from large street protests over government corruption to an economy on the brink of collapse after years of mismanagement. Ordinary citizens are struggling with soaring prices of food and other goods, as well as long daily power cuts.

The explosion left a swath of destruction at the port, one of Lebanon’s vital economic arteries. Video footage reviewed by The Wall Street Journal showed a swath of rubble, piles of metal and burning fires.

The shock wave and vast plume of smoke quickly transformed the city center into a surreal scene blanketed in dust and debris as stunned residents fled their homes and rushed the wounded to hospitals. Bloody and injured people were trying to wave down ambulances, which had to navigate streets filled with debris and wrecked cars. Ambulances struggled to part the traffic.

Beirut port's grain silos Wednesday.

PHOTO:   -/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

The Lebanese health ministry requested that the wounded be brought to hospitals in areas surrounding Beirut to relieve pressure on facilities in the capital, the state news agency reported.

Lebanon’s health infrastructure is stretched to its limits following a number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the past few weeks. On Tuesday, 177 new cases were recorded, according to the health ministry. Economic pressures have also put hospitals under strain. The American University hospital in Beirut laid off hundreds of staff in July, citing the economic crisis.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told local TV that France was sending three planes with 25 tons in aid and security personnel. They include diplomats and emergency workers who will support Beirut’s hospitals, the French government said.

Vincent Tissier, the chief of the security detachment, told French TV that 55 security personnel trained to locate victims under rubble, provide first aid, identify chemical components and operate heavy machinery used to clear debris were being sent to Beirut.

Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said it was dispatching doctors, a mobile hospital and planes with humanitarian aid. Medical specialists with mobile labs to test for the coronavirus were likewise on route, the ministry said. Russian state news agency RIA reported that five Emergency Ministry planes would be sent.

Qatar opened an air bridge Wednesday to carry urgent aid to Lebanon. The first of four air force planes left this morning carrying two full field hospitals with 500 beds each, as well as ventilators, generators and medicine. Kuwait also began sending medical supplies.

Lebanon’s economy was already struggling before the pandemic, but a lockdown imposed to fight the virus has pushed it to the brink.

On the once-thriving Gemmayzeh Street, business owners were trying Wednesday to salvage whatever remained of their livelihoods.

Mohammed al-Alam, 46, sat in the gutted interior of a coffee shop. The owner is abroad, but asked Mr. Alam to remove the coffee machines in case of looters, whom he wouldn’t blame for stealing.

“People are hungry,” he said.

Blood was smeared on the bonnet of a white car on the opposite side of the street. Mr. Alam said a chunk of the building facade dislodged by the blast struck a woman on the head there, fatally wounding her.

“There is no future with a government like this; Nobody has any hope,” he said. Both his sons are planning to leave the country. “There is nothing to stay here for.”

A man rides a scooter through a street strewn with debris.

PHOTO:   GETTY IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES

Along the street were glimpses of other lives and livelihoods upended by the blast, the force of which wrenched doors and windows from their frames and tore down older buildings.

In a cocktail bar, bottles were still lined up neatly on the shelves, highlighting the devastation around.

Twenty-six-year-old Lina returned from Dubai where she works in digital marketing to see her family two weeks ago and was part of a small group of volunteers helping clear away debris Wednesday.

“It’s a complete disaster,” she said. “Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse, they prove you wrong. We’re on the brink of extinction.”

“We lost everything in seconds,” said pharmacy owner Paul Sakr, calculating his losses at around $800,000. “At first I thought it was an earthquake,” he said. “Nobody will help us but I trust in God.”


— Jared Malsin in London, Stephen Kalin in Riyadh, Thomas Grove in Moscow and Benoit Morenne in Paris contributed to this article.