Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday expressed his grief over the Beirut blast that has killed more than 70 people and wounded over 4000.
“Shocked and saddened by the large explosion in Beirut city leading to loss of life and property. Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families and the injured,” Modi tweeted.
As per reports, the huge explosion which struck with the force of a 3.5 magnitude earthquake, according to Germany’s geosciences center GFZ, and was heard throughout the country and felt as far away as Cyprus which is more than 200 kilometers across the Mediterranean.
According to a top official of Lebanon, the cause of the explosion is due to the detonation of the huge consignment of ammonium nitrate that had been stored in a warehouse at the port ever since it was confiscated from a cargo ship in 2014.
Meanwhile, chaos reigned across the city as ambulances rushed to carry the wounded to the hospital which was quickly filled beyond capacity.
Windows and doors were blown away, including at the city’s only international airport. Army helicopters helped battle fires raging at the port.
Videos showing a massive mushroom shaped cloud rising due to the accumulation of toxic nitrogen gas have been going viral ever since the blast occurred on Tuesday.
Lebanon Prime Minister Hassan Diab said that about 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate were stored in the Beirut port warehouse that exploded Tuesday devastating large parts of the capital city.
“It is unacceptable that a shipment of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate has been present for six years in a warehouse, without taking preventive measures,” he said at a defence council meeting.
He also said that strict action would be taken against those responsible for this catastrophe.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that US generals had told him that the powerful explosions which rocked Beirut appeared to have been caused by a ‘bomb of some kind’.
“It looks like a terrible attack. It would seem like it, based on the explosion. I met with some of our great generals and they just seemed to feel that it was,” he said.