LAST UPDATE: 13:37
The two massive explosions in the port of Beirut yesterday afternoon, which caused extensive damage in entire districts of the Lebanese capital, claimed the lives of more than a hundred people and injured more than 4,000, the Lebanese Red Cross announced.
“So far, more than 4,000 people have been injured and more than 100 have been killed. Our teams are continuing their investigations and rescue operations in the areas surrounding the port of the country’s capital,” clarified the humanitarian organization.
The Secretary-General of Lebanese Red Cross, George Kettaneh, told on Lebanese TV station by telephone that there were still people trapped under rubble and that the death toll was expected to rise.
Speaking to LBCI, George Kettaneh added that the organization was cooperating with the Ministry of Health to decide to which morgues the dead should be transported and to which hospital the injured would be admitted because the hospitals are already struggling to cope with thousands of injured, many of whom are in a serious and critical health condition.
Up to 300,000 people have been left homeless in Beirut since the blasts rocked the port, said the Governor of Beirut, Marwan Abboud, estimating that the damage would amount to over 3 billion dollars.
“I took a tour in Beirut, the damage could amount to between three and five billion dollars,” the governor told AFP, specifying, however, that he was awaiting an assessment from experts and engineers.
“Almost 50% of Beirut has been destroyed or damaged,” he said, with 250,000 to 300,000 people left homeless.
Source: ANA-MPA
