Pak teenager killed, 4 hurt in Beirut explosion: envoy

BEIRUT: The horrendous explosion that rocked Lebanon’s capital Beirut on Tuesday also claimed the life of a Pakistani teenager and wounded four other nationals, Pakistan's Ambassador to Lebanon Najeeb Durrani said. Durrani, in a statement, said that the teenage boy's father — identified as Sajid — and his sister are currently in intensive care at a hospital, reported foreign media. He said that the 14-year-old boy’s mother and grandmother were also wounded in the explosion. The envoy said that the Pakistani family was residing near the port in an apartment. Durrani said that the Pakistani embassy is trying its best to facilitate the affected family. Meanwhile, the death toll from the Beirut port blast rose to at least 113, Lebanon's Health Minister Hamad Hassan said Wednesday. At least 4,000 people were also wounded by Tuesday's explosion, while dozens of people were still missing as rescue efforts continued, he told reporters. Rescuers worked through the night into Wednesday after the explosion ripped through Beirut's port, wrecking buildings across the Lebanese capital. The blast sent an enormous orange fireball into the sky, immediately followed by a tornado-like shockwave that flattened the port and shattered windows across the city. The explosions — which were heard in Nicosia, 240 kilometres away in Cyprus — were logged by seismologists, registering as the equivalent of a 3.3-magnitude earthquake. Bloodied, dazed and wounded people stumbled among the debris, glass shards and burning buildings in central Beirut.