Yesterday evening, in Lebanon’s capital city of Beirut, two huge explosions happened in its port which created a massive blast wave across the city, killing at least 78 people and injuring more than 4000 people. The scale of the damage is massive as buildings located miles away from the port have been damaged as well.

Lebanon’s prime minister, Hassan Diab has said that the cause of the explosion was 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, an industrial chemical used in fertiliser and as a component in mining explosives. Diab also declared a national day of mourning for the victims.

The warehouse which the authorities claim was the site of the blast had been receiving warnings since 2014. More facts about the warehouse will be revealed soon after investigation. Hospitals dealing with the coronavirus crisis were filled beyond capacity after this shocking explosion.