How Beirut blast sent panic-stricken residents fleeing as fireball engulfed their city

Abbie Cheeseman
·2 min read
The explosion near Beirut's waterfront flattened much of the port area and destroyed huge areas of downtown - AFP
The explosion near Beirut's waterfront flattened much of the port area and destroyed huge areas of downtown - AFP

By the time the second much larger explosion engulfed the Lebanese capital on Tuesday, scores of residents had their smartphones trained on the Beirut waterfront.

Their footage showed a billowing tower of smoke rising over the port area, where flames were engulfing a warehouse area.

Moments later a colossal fireball erupted, sending a huge shockwave tearing through entire districts of Beirut and momentarily obscuring the sun.

The force of the blast threw some of the amateur cameramen off their feet. Further out the blastwave tore balconies from apartment buildings miles away.

As dust covered the city, an enormous mushroom cloud rose overhead.

"It was like a nuclear explosion," said Walid Abdo, a 43-year-old school teacher in the neighbourhood of Gemayzeh near Beirut.

Rumbling aftershocks continued for several minutes, as piercing screams rose as bystanders rushed to pull bloodied bodies from the rubble of damaged buildings.

Panicked soldiers with blood-streaked faces sprinted down streets strewn with rubble. People were trapped in their collapsed homes, the Lebanese Red Cross said.

“All the downtown area windows are smashed and there are wounded people walking around. It is total chaos," one witness said.

A man in wheeled into a hospital following an explosion - IBRAHIM AMRO/AFP via Getty Images
A man in wheeled into a hospital following an explosion - IBRAHIM AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Sirens wailed from dozens of ambulances ferrying wounded from the port area.

Calls went out for blood donations as the wounded began to fill the emergency departments of hospitals already filled with coronavirus patients. Some people were turned away due to the number of severely injured.

The emergency room at St George’s hospital not far from the waterfront was destroyed, leaving medics treating screaming patients in the car park.

Hotel Dieu Hospital reported it was treating more than 500 patients and was unable to receive more. Dozens of injured required operations.

With the civil war still a recent memory, panic gripped Beirut residents. Many fled the city, blocking major roads.

The cause of the blast was unclear but the orange hue of the smoke made many worried about possible chemical exposure.

For weeks fears of Lebanon’s impending collapse have focused on the nose diving economy, hyperinflation, and a spiking poverty rate now over 50 per cent.

With thousands of businesses closing, life-savings wiped out and the middle class disappearing, warnings have highlighted impending hunger, potential unrest, and even the possibility of renewed conflict.

But not even the most alarmist scenarios predicted the calamity that just befell the capital.