Beirut explosion LATEST: Death toll 'rises to 145' as international rescue teams flown to Lebanon to help search

Rebecca Speare-Cole6 August 2020

The explosion in Beirut has reached 145, a security source has revealed, while officials say the number of fatalities is still likely to rise.​

The blast at the port on Tuesday evening killed at least 135 people, injured more than 5,000 and damaged up to 300,000 homes in Beirut. A French architect and a German embassy worker are among those killed, their Governments have confirmed.

Meanwhile, international rescue and aid workers continue to arrive in Lebanon's capital to help with the search for missing people. Britain is sending a Royal Navy ship to Beirut to help the city recover.

Early investigations blame negligence for the explosion and have begun focussing on a supply of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, used in fertilisers and bombs, which was stored for six years at the port after it was seized. Public anger is mounting after an official letter circulating online showed the head of the customs department had warned repeatedly over the years that the huge stockpile stored in the port was a danger.

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5 August 2020
5 August 2020

Chris Rampling, the British ambassador to Lebanon, said the UK Government was "urgently" looking at how to support the country.

5 August 2020

The assistant director for crisis management at Red Cross Lebanon has said he expects the death toll to rise.

Rodney Eid told BBC Radio 4's Today programme:

The preliminary report indicates around 4,000 people have been injured and at least 100 have lost their lives.

Our teams are still searching the area, and it is a big area, around the blast - to look for survivors, to look for people who are injured.

We have also set up two triage and first aid locations next to the blast area so that minor injuries can be treated there as we were overwhelmed with the number of calls yesterday and we were trying to respond to the most vulnerable and to the critical cases first.

Mr Eid said "there are a lot of people who are missing".

He added: "I expect the death toll to rise."

5 August 2020

Former middle east minister Alistair Burt said he expects the tragedy in Lebanon to lead to "some degree of political shake-up" in the country.

Mr Burt told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that "it is too soon to get ahead of the investigation" into what happened in Beirut.

He said:

It seems at present it may well have been a tragic accident, but it may have had something to do with the way in which things are run in Lebanon.

There is much unhappiness at the moment about the state of the country, the way in which the political system has not responded to various crisis over the years and now it's in the grip of both the financial crisis, Covid and this.

I think first our thoughts are for the people of Beirut and Lebanon who have experienced this through no fault of their own and who must be in a desperate state.

Whether or not something like this does bring the political processes in Lebanon together to appreciate they can't go on as they are, that will be another thing, but at the moment I think we should focus on the disaster consequences, be as supportive as possible in relation to that.

But I would imagine it will require some degree of political shake-up as well.

5 August 2020
5 August 2020

Countries send aid to Lebanon:

Russia's emergency officials say the country will send five planeloads of aid to Beirut after an explosion in the Lebanese capital's port killed at least 100 people and injured thousands on Tuesday.

Russia's Ministry for Emergency Situations will send rescuers, medical workers, a makeshift hospital and a lab for coronavirus testing to Lebanon.

France, Jordan and other countries also say aid is on the way.

France says it is sending two planes with dozens of emergency workers, a mobile medical unit and 15 tons of aid. French President Emmanuel Macron's office says the aid should allow for the treatment of some 500 victims.

French peacekeepers stationed in Lebanon, a former French protectorate, have been helping since the explosions, Macron's office said.

Jordan says a military field hospital including all necessary personnel will be dispatched, according to the Royal Court. Egypt has opened a field hospital in Beirut to receive the wounded.

Czech Interior Minister Jan Hamacek says Lebanon has accepted an offer to send a team of 37 rescuers with sniffer dogs to Beirut.

Denmark says it is ready to provide humanitarian assistance to Lebanon, and Greece says it is ready to help Lebanese authorities "with all means at its disposal."

5 August 2020

Business Secretary Alok Sharma said the UK Government is "working quickly and at speed to look at a package of support" after the tragedy in Lebanon.

Speaking to the BBC's Good Morning Scotland radio programme ahead of a visit to Livingston, he said:

It is a terrible tragedy that's unfolded in Lebanon and of course our thoughts are very much of those who have been injured and of course with the families of those who have lost their lives.

The government there is looking to see what has happened and we will have to wait to see what comes out of that.

But of course we've been very clear that we want to support that country at this particular time and we're working quickly and at speed to look at a package of support for them.

It is a very, very challenging time for people in Lebanon, in Beirut, and we understand the urgency of the situation.

I hope very, very shortly the UK Government will be able to set out precisely what we will be doing in providing support for them.

5 August 2020
5 August 2020

Lebanon's Prime Minister appeals for help from other nations:

In a short televised speech, Prime Minister Hassan Diab, appealed to all countries and friends of Lebanon to extend help to the small nation, saying: "We are witnessing a real catastrophe."

He reiterated his pledge that those responsible for the massive explosion at Beirut's port will pay the price, without commenting on the cause.

5 August 2020
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