Beirut blasts: Lebanon in three days of mourning after twin explosions kill 100, injure 4,000
- Lebanon authorities say blasts likely caused by highly explosive materials stored at the country’s main port
- US President Donald Trump claims US generals told him Beirut blasts were ‘bomb of some kind’
Beirut was declared a “disaster city” as the death toll from two massive explosions that rocked the Lebanese capital’s port earlier Tuesday surpassed 100.
More than 4,000 people were also injured in the blasts, the Lebanese Red Cross said.
After an emergency meeting called by President Michel Aoun, Lebanon’s Higher Defence Council declared Beirut a “disaster city” as the death toll was expected to rise.
The conferees at the council decided on three days of mourning.
The cause of the explosions was not immediately clear, but Lebanon’s internal security chief, Abbas Ibrahim, said the area was housing highly explosive materials.
“We cannot pre-empt investigations,” he said.
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Twin explosions in Beirut kill at least 73 people and injure thousands
“What happened today will not go unpunished and those responsible for this disaster will pay the price, and this is a promise to the martyrs and the wounded,” Prime Minister Hassan Diab said.