At least 300,000 people have been displaced from their homes by Tuesday’s devastating explosion, Beirut’s governor Marwan Abboud said in an interview with Jordan’s state-owned channel Al Mamlaka.
Lebanon Prime minister said that an estimated 2750 tons of the explosive ammonium nitrate had been stored at a warehouse in Beirut for over six years.
At least 100 people were killed and 4,000 wounded in a massive explosion that shook Beirut on Tuesday, state-run media reported, citing the Red Cross.
Lebanese officials have however raised concerns with the US after President Donald Trump called the Beirut explosion an “attack” to describe the blast in Beirut on Tuesday after President Donald Trump did so at a news conference, two US State Department officials said.
Trump offered sympathy and assistance to the people of Lebanon on Tuesday after the explosions, that left dozens dead and thousands injured, referring to the incident as a “terrible attack.”
US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday that the Government of Lebanon is investigating the cause of the explosion and the US looks forward to that outcome. Initial reports earlier blamed the explosion on a major fire at a warehouse containing
firecrackers near the port.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, later said that 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive material used in fertilizers and bombs, had been stored for six years at a port warehouse without safety measures, “endangering the safety of citizens,” according to a statement.
The Prime Minister called the storage of the material “unacceptable” and called for a thorough investigation into the cause of the blast, with the results released within five days, the statement said.
A number of countries have come forth to stand with Lebanon in this trying time. Qatar, Iraq, and Kuwait plan to send medical assistance to Lebanon in the aftermath of the deadly explosion, according to state news agencies in the Middle East.
Lebanon’s NNA news agency reported that Qatar will send supplies to outfit two 500-bed field hospitals on Wednesday.
NNA also reported that Iraq will send a field hospital and oil.
The Emir of Qatar, Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, said on Twitter that he spoke on the phone with Lebanese President Michel Aoun “to express Qatar’s standing with the brothers in Lebanon and its willingness to provide immediate support following the explosion.”
“Our condolences go out to the Lebanese people, and we pray to God that the victims be blessed with mercy and heal the wounded,” he said.
Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah has also directed authorities in the country to send urgent medical assistance to Lebanon, according to a statement reported by Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).
