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Beirut explosion: Dozens still missing as death toll rises

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Lebanese officials called for an international investigation into the incident, saying that they were concerned that local investigation committees would be unreliable and politicized.
Over 100 people have died and 4,000 people were injured as search and rescue efforts continued on Wednesday after a massive explosion at a warehouse at Beirut’s port shook Lebanon’s capital on Tuesday. The death toll is expected to rise as dozens of people are still missing in rubble throughout the city. Multiple videos from the area showed a plume of smoke rising near the coastline and then a large blast and shock wave which shattered windows and damaged buildings and vehicles throughout the capital. Video and pictures from the scene showed windows blown out and debris strewn in buildings and streets throughout Lebanon’s capital. Some buildings in the area collapsed and emergency forces rushed to rescue those trapped in the rubble. Electrical outages were reported throughout the capital hampering search and rescue efforts. „What we are witnessing is a huge catastrophe,“ the head of Lebanon’s Red Cross George Kettani told broadcaster Al-Mayadeen. „There are victims and casualties everywhere – in all the streets and areas near and far from the explosion.“ Hospitals in the capital were overwhelmed with the injured and began treating people in hallways and transferring other wounded people outside of Beirut. Injuries, damage and deaths were reported on streets and in buildings throughout Beirut. Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced three days of national mourning starting Wednesday for the victims of the explosion. Beirut was declared a disaster city and state of emergency was declared for two weeks. Diab stated that he „would not rest“ until the person responsible for the disaster was found and held accountable. The exact cause of the explosion remained uncertain as of Tuesday night, but Lebanon’s Supreme Council of Defense stated that over 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate were stored for six years at the warehouse where the explosion occurred, calling this „unacceptable.

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