Security sources in Lebanon have suggested that a welder triggered the fire that caused a massive explosion in Beirut that has killed over 100 people and injured more than 4,000 victims.
Read Also: Beirut Explosion Death Toll Rises To 100 And Over 4000 Wounded
More than 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, used in fertilisers and bombs, exploded in a warehouse where it had been stored without safety measures for six years, according to officials.
The blast is said to have had a fifth of the power of the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
According to Reuters, a preliminary investigation revealed that Tuesday’s blast occurred after a fire was sparked by someone welding a small hole to prevent theft from the warehouse located in the Port of Beirut, the Lebanese TV station LBCI reported.
Reports say hundreds of people are still missing and medical teams are searching through the rubble for survivors and bodies.
Worried residents have been posting photos of the missing on social media as part of desperate efforts to find them.
An Instagram account created after the blast now has dozens of appeals and more than 65,000 followers.
Health Minister Hamad Hasan told Reuters;
There are many people missing. People are asking the emergency department about their loved ones and it is difficult to search at night because there is no electricity.
One local report claimed hospital morgues were full of bodies after the explosion occurred amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Prime Minister Hassan Diab has however promised there would be accountability for the deadly blast at the “dangerous warehouse”, adding “those responsible will pay the price.”
Meanwhile, a number of countries have promised to send aid to Lebanon as thousands of residents were left homeless or forced to sleep in high-rise flats that suffered significant damage.
UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma confirmed that the country is working to send a package of support.
Without providing any evidence to back up the claim, US President Donald Trump said his generals believes the explosion was probably a ‘bomb attack’.
However, two US officials said initial information contradicted Trump’s view, Reuters reports.
The deadly blast has now been described as one of the world’s biggest-ever peacetime explosions.
See some photos from the blast site below;
