Khaberni.com
More than 70 people were killed and some 2 500 wounded after a powerful explosion ripped through Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, on Tuesday evening.
The massive explosion at the port caused widespread damage to buildings up to 10 kilometres away, shattering windows in different parts of the city.
The captain of an Italian ship, the Orient Queen, that was docked near the explosion site, told Al Jazeera several people on board were wounded and rushed to the hospital.
The authorities say highly explosive material was stored at the site where the explosion and subsequent fire raged.
According to authorities, the explosion could have been caused by ammonium nitrate that was kept in a warehouse near the port.
Lebanon's Prime Minister Hassan Diab said in a statement that an estimated 2,750 tons of the substance had been stored there for the past six years.
