Rescuers in Beirut searched Thursday for the missing while the country mourned those killed in Tuesday’s massive blast at the capital city’s port.
The health ministry said the number of dead has risen to 137 along with the more than 5,000 people injured in the explosion. Officials expect the death toll will rise.
Lebanon’s Cabinet has declared a two-week state of emergency and ordered the military to place under house arrest anyone who was involved in warehousing explosive material that detonated at the port.
Authorities are investigating what led to the blast and leaders have put the focus on what they said was tons of ammonium nitrate that had been stored at port warehouses for the past six years.
President Michel Aoun has pledged those accountable would face “the most severe penalties.”
The explosion devastated the vital port area and was so strong it blew out doors and windows far from the port and damaged numerous buildings.
Beirut Gov. Marwan Abboud said Wednesday the “apocalyptic situation” has left an estimated 300,000 people homeless.
In the aftermath, hospitals were overrun with people seeking care. Survivors with their faces and clothes covered in blood were walking through the streets.
The World Health Organization said Wednesday three hospitals in Beirut were heavily damaged in the blast and are not currently functional. WHO said two other hospitals are only partly operational.
The international community has responded with condolences for the dead and offers to help the people of Beirut with recovery efforts.
French President Emmanuel Macron is visiting Beirut Thursday to meet with political leaders. France, the former colonial power in Lebanon, is sending emergency doctors and several tons of medical equipment.
Russia sent a military hospital along with 50 medical workers, while Qatar is dispatching field hospitals and medical aid. Iraq is sending its own crew of medical workers along with truckloads of medical supplies.
Tunisia offered to bring patients back to its hospitals for treatment.
Australia said Thursday it would contribute an initial round of $1.4 million in aid for Beirut, while Britain pledged a $6.6 million aid package and Hungary said it would donate $1.2 million to help with rescue and reconstruction efforts.
Germany sent about 50 search and rescue specialists along with search dogs from its civil protection organization to help search for people who may be stuck in the rubble.
▶️ One man in Beirut was rescued, Wednesday, from the rubble after being trapped for over 16 hours in the wake of a massive explosion.
— The Voice of America (@VOANews) August 5, 2020
👉 Death Toll Tops 100 in Beirut Blast https://t.co/tJfDORAQog pic.twitter.com/XdTlMUUzGA
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper told the Aspen Security Forum Wednesday, "We're reaching out to the Lebanese government, have reached out. We're positioning ourselves to provide them whatever assistance we can, humanitarian assistance, medical supplies, you name it, to assist the people of Lebanon," he said, clarifying that for now, there is nothing to suggest the explosion was triggered on purpose.
"Most believe it was an accident, as reported," he said, adding, "It's a shame to see it happen. When you see the video, it's just devastating."
But President Donald Trump said Wednesday he’s “heard it both ways” — that it could have been an accident or “a bomb.”
The U.S. State Department also said Wednesday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with Prime Minister Hassan Diab Wednesday to reaffirm Washington’s “steadfast commitment to assist the Lebanese people.”
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden expressed sympathy for the victims of the explosion and urged the Trump administration and the international community “to immediately mobilize assistance to the thousands injured in the blast.”
The blast has also compelled the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to postpone its verdict in the trial of four men accused of the 2005 bombing that killed former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri and 21 others.
The United Nations-backed court was scheduled to hand down a verdict on Friday, but the court said in an online statement Wednesday it would be postponed until Aug. 18 “out of respect for the countless victims of the devastating explosion that shook Beirut on 4 August, and the three days of public mourning in Lebanon.”
