Pak teen killed, four wounded in Beirut blast, says envoy

Ag AFP

BEIRUT: The cataclysmic explosion that rocked Lebanon’s capital Beirut claimed the life of a Pakistani teenager and wounded four other nationals, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Lebanon Najeeb Durrani said on Wednesday.

Durrani, in a statement quoted by Geo News, said the 14-year-old boy’s father and his sister are currently in intensive care and receiving treatment for their injuries. The boy’s mother and grandmother were also wounded in the explosion.

The envoy said the Pakistani family was residing near the port in an apartment. Durrani said the Pakistani embassy is trying its best to facilitate the affected family.

On Wednesday, rescuers searched for survivors in Beirut after a cataclysmic explosion at the port sowed devastation across entire neighbourhoods, killing more than 100 people, wounding thousands and plunging Lebanon deeper into crisis.

The blast, which appeared to have been caused by a fire igniting 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate left unsecured in a warehouse, was felt as far away as Cyprus, some 150 miles to the northwest.

The governor of Beirut, Marwan Abboud, described the disaster as “an apocalyptic situation” he estimated might have made 300,000 people temporarily homeless and would cost the country in excess of $3 billion.

The scale of the destruction was such that the Lebanese capital resembled the scene of an earthquake, with thousands of people left homeless and thousands more cramming into overwhelmed hospitals for treatment.

In those areas, the amount of destruction caused by the long years of civil war between 1975 and 1990 was achieved in a second by a blast that levelled buildings within a radius of several hundred metres.

The mushroom-shaped explosion — which seismologists said was logged as the equivalent of a 3.3 magnitude quake — and the scope of the damage drew nuclear analogies in many people’s accounts of the tragedy. The embattled government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab described the circumstances at the port that led to the explosion as “unacceptable” and vowed to investigate. “Those responsible for this catastrophe will pay the price,” he said.

Messages of support poured in from around the world for Lebanon, whose economy was already on its knees after it defaulted on sovereign debt earlier this year.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday expressed his grief over the loss of precious lives. “Deeply pained to hear of the massive explosions in Beirut with precious lives lost and thousands injured,” he said on Twitter. He expressed solidarity with the people of Lebanon in that difficult hour and said that they shared their sorrow and grief.

Foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said: “Terribly tragic scenes from Beirut. Pakistan’s prayers and thoughts are with the government and people of #Lebanon in this difficult time.”

The Red Cross said on Wednesday morning that more than 100 deaths had been confirmed. It also reported around 4,000 injured, prompting fears that the death toll could rise significantly.