Search continues after deadly Beirut blast

A massive explosion that rocked the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Tuesday left at least 137 people dead and thousands injured.

Here’s what we know about the blast so far:

Smoke rises above wrecked buildings at the city's port on August 5, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon.

At least 137 people are dead and 5,000 wounded following an explosion in Lebanon’s capital city of Beirut. The city is decimated with thousands of residents left homeless, a medical system already strained from coronavirus and up to $5 billion worth of damage.

Several charities are on the ground providing medical care, shelter, supplies and other services to help the city recover and rebuild.

You can help raise funds for supplies and assistance so desperately needed by clicking here.

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks at a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon, on August 6.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that France was organizing an international conference to help raise support for Lebanon in the aftermath of Tuesday’s devastating blast at Beirut port.

Macron visited the capital earlier in the day and met with representatives of multiple political parties and civil society groups. 

Macron said that any funds raised in an upcoming international conference to help Lebanon would be handled with “full transparency.”

He promised “clear and transparent governance, whether it’s French or international” to ensure the funds are “directly provided to the local population, the NGOs and teams on site that need it.”

WATCH:

Dr. Israa Seblani poses for her wedding photos in Beirut, Lebanon, on August 4.

It was all captured on video. A short block from her wedding venue, 29-year-old Dr. Israa Seblani was in the middle of a pose for her wedding photoshoot when the explosion happened in Beirut. Seblani, her husband, Ahmad Sbeih, and the video crew ran for cover with destruction all around them.

“At that moment, one thing I thought about, “Now, I’m losing my life, I’m losing my husband, I’m going to be buried under a building, now I’m going to die. Now I’m waiting the moment. How I’m going to die? Is it going to be fast? Am I going to feel it? Am I going to be near him?’” she said.

Seblani, a US resident and Lebanon native, was in Beirut to get married because her husband had not gotten a US visa, despite waiting for three years. Not wanting to be apart any longer, they decided to celebrate in the capital city of Lebanon, where their love first blossomed, CNN’s Jomana Karadsheh reported.

When Seblani returned to the wedding venue, she said the beautiful restaurant had transformed into a “nightmare.”

Prior to the wedding, she had done a final run through of the bridal suite where the couple would spend the night after the party. She was excited about the decorations. But when they returned, the red rose petals thrown off the bed were all that remained of the romance they envisioned, Karadsheh reported, adding that in a city where life was turned upside down in seconds, the couple are just grateful to be alive.

WATCH:

Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, attends a meeting in Washington, DC, on October 15, 2019.

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund said it is time to address the deep economic crisis Lebanon is facing, urging both sides to overcome “the impasse in the discussions on critical reforms.”

“In the aftermath of the terrible tragedy in Lebanon, it is time for national unity - to overcome this disaster, as well as to address the deep economic and social crisis that the country continues to face,” IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement Thursday.

Georgieva also called on the international community and the friends of Lebanon to step up to help the country in this moment of urgent need.

Lebanon defaulted on some of its debt in March seeking a $10 billion IMF loan, but bailout talks with IMF have stalled.

The US military is sending three C-17 transport aircrafts to Lebanon in order to provide relief supplies to the Lebanese people following the deadly Beirut explosion.

The commander of US Central Command, Gen. Frank Mckenzie, informed the commander of Lebanon’s Armed Forces “of the impending delivery of three C-17s shipments of U.S. relief supplies including food, water, and medical supplies,” a spokesperson for US Central Command said in a statement.

George Faraoun went to his parents’ retirement home that looked directly on to the Beirut port that was the site of the massive explosion on Tuesday.

It completely destroyed the apartment, causing a wall to collapse over Faraoun’s mother. Dried blood marks the spot where she was resting in bed. She’s still in the hospital, CNN’s Ben Wedeman reports.

Given the damage, his parents will probably never be able to move back. Many neighbors were badly injured and others were killed, Wedeman reports.

Faraoun went with a friend for what he can salvage from the remains.

Beirut’s governor, Marwan Abboud, told Jordan’s state-owned channel Al Mamlaka that at least 300,000 people were “unable to sleep in their homes,” adding that “half of Beirut’s population have homes that are unlivable for the foreseeable future — for the next two weeks.”

WATCH:

Smoke rises above destroyed buildings at Beirut's port on August 5.

Iraq’s most influential Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, called on people across the world to stand with the Lebanese people following the massive explosion in the city of Beirut on Tuesday that killed at least 137 people. 

“The supreme religious authority in the holy city of Najaf expresses its deep sorrow and regret the tragic incident in Beirut after a massive explosion occurred in its port,” the statement added.

Lebanese soldiers watch as a helicopter fights a fire at the scene of an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, on August 4.

Lebanese officials have pointed to a possible cause of the massive explosion that tore through Beirut: Prime Minister Hassan Diab said the devastating blast was caused by 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate. 

The dangerous compound — also known as AN — could be traced back to a massive shipment of agricultural fertilizer that had been stored in the port of Beirut without safety precautions for years, despite warnings from local officials. 

AN doesn’t burn, but if exposed to heat, it can melt — which releases combustible toxic gases that can cause an explosion. It’s even more dangerous if there is a large supply of AN all stored together, because once a small section of AN begins to melt and explode, the resulting heat can set off the rest of the supply.

Other AN disasters: One of the worst disasters in US history involving a form of ammonia occurred in April 1947 when a ship loaded with ammonium nitrate caught fire while docked in Texas City. The fire caused an explosion and additional fires that damaged more than 1,000 buildings and killed nearly 400 people, according to the website of the Texas Historical Association.

For perspective, that explosion was triggered by 2,300 US tons (about 2087 metric tons) of ammonium nitrate, according to US Homeland Security.

And the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing, a US domestic terror attack that killed 169 people and injured 467, used only two US tons (1.8 metric tons) of ammonium nitrate.

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to a crowd on August 6 during his visit to the Gemmayzeh neighborhood in Beirut, Lebanon.

French aid to Beirut “will not go to corrupt hands” French President Macron told Lebanese protesters on Thursday, an Elysée spokesperson told CNN.

“This aid, I guarantee it, won’t end up in corrupt hands. I will speak to all political forces to ask for a new pact,” Macron said, adding: “I am here today to propose a new political pact. If they [the political forces] are not able to keep this pact, I will take my responsibilities,” the French president said.

French President Emmanuel Macron, in the white shirt, greets people on August 6 as he visits the Gemmayzeh neighborhood in Beirut, Lebanon.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said “unconditional help is the priority” in the wake of the devastating Beirut blast, but also warned that unless reforms were implemented “Lebanon will continue to sink.”

Macron landed in the Lebanese capital on Thursday and was welcomed by President Michel Aoun.

Speaking shortly after his arrival, Macron stressed that there needed to be a fight against corruption in the country’s energy sector and public contracts.

Officials have blamed the devastating explosion on 2,750 metric tons of poorly stored ammonium nitrate.

There is mounting public anger in Lebanon at the political class over revelations that the blast may be linked to government negligence.

Macron added that the Lebanese authorities have a “historic responsibility” in the current crisis.

France has sent an aid package to Lebanon which includes two military planes, 55 personnel, 15 tons of equipment and a mobile clinic able care for 500 wounded people.

One French national was killed in the blast and 24 others were injured, Junior Minister to France’s Foreign Ministry Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne told France Inter radio on Thursday.

Red smoke rises after an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, on August 4.

A massive explosion rocked the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Tuesday evening, leaving at least 137 dead and thousands injured.

Here’s what we know so far: