Netizens captured on video the two enormous explosions that gutted Beirut’s port on Tuesday, August 4. The viral footage show, from various angles and situations, the very second a tornado-like shockwave barreled through the Lebanese capital.
At least 73 people died, including two Filipinos, and thousands were injured.
An already alarming cloud of smoke from the port is followed by a huge explosion, which a witness likened to an “atomic bomb.” The mushroom cloud looks like it came straight from a disaster movie.
This close-up shot shows the terrifying impact of the explosions on the ground. The netizen who livestreamed the video was said to have died.
Here is another video taken from a frightening angle, right on the port where the explosions stemmed.
Motorists were struck hard inside their vehicles, as seen here.
Citizens indoors were also not spared. In this video, a family expresses their terror at the initial explosion, and then panics when the shockwave crashes right into their home.
Parents and guardians had to act fast once they realized their children were in danger.
Prime Minister Hassan Diab said that 2,750 tons of the agricultural fertilizer ammonium nitrate that had been stored for years in a portside warehouse had blown up, sparking “a disaster in every sense of the word.”
“What happened today will not pass without accountability,” said Diab. “Those responsible for this catastrophe will pay the price.” – with reports from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com
How does this make you feel?