breaking news on r t a devastating explosion hits the lebanese capital beirut leaving at buildings in rubble and causing a huge fire the cause is so far on know. a lot of lebanese are very. unfortunately there are. at least 73 people were killed in the blast according to the lebanese ministry and around 3700 more are injured. turkey and israel offer emergency humanitarian and medical aid to lebanon where hospitals are reportedly struggling to cope.

are broadcasting live direct from our studios in moscow this is our 2 international i'm sean thomas glad to have you with us we start with breaking news right here on our team international a devastating explosion has hit lebanon's capital beirut government officials say at least $73.00 people are dead and around $3700.00 injured the blast went off in the city's port area destroying buildings with a large radius. my. but

we heard from 2 reporters in beirut. and owen hall the way they told us more about the fallout from the devastating explosion. the devastation here in the lebanese capital is very massive it is being estimated by tens of millions of dollars as we said earlier the blouse had was felt 10 kilometers away from the port where it took place i believe this is going to be a sleepless night for the lebanese and a very sad night on social media a lot of lebanese are faring through the incident unfortunately there are for and

through it as lebanon's here shima course there's no comparison between a nuclear bomb and what's happened today but it's only shows how deeply impacted and how saddened they are and how devastating this explosion has been on the up and on and on the lebanese who are already grappling with a very bad economic situation kovac 19 pro-reform demonstrations or demonstrations asking to lemonade corruption from the power sharing system for failing in the country at the list goes on so this just adds further hurt and injury and tragedy to the lebanese people. in the bomb blast system that i think they take right down time they know it's not supposed to be everything he does see things from the right side they've got the right state that's a good amount of people in egypt. down since if you happen to like the buildings even construction however devastated. shops around the big huge story you see

behind me you know that in terms of the problems of that in the space in front of the infrastructure i. think it was very very much a strength of home growing and epidemic or pandemic that it's country yet read on and. taking a lot of the interest. of the right so it's been easy very very nicely done stephen every stage right and. we could not cross to our middle east correspondent paula slayer in tel aviv paulo what more can you tell us about the dell. devastating explosion. when it's not our was off to the blast happened and still there are ambulances on the scene there off airing wounded people to hospitals although the hospitals themselves are reporting that they can no longer handle the volume of people who are being brought to them you mentioned the figures we are receiving figures of 73 people who are confirmed dead and at least 3700 people who have been injured but it is life you that those figures will

climb some of the people are still trapped in the rubble emergency services struggling to reach them and the blast has flattened much of the city's port area eyewitnesses report seeing a huge plume a mushroom over the city as well as fires that broke out everywhere and army helicopters are also still on the scene helping to put out those fires now the lebanese president has taken to twitter and he has said that the blast was caused by 2700 tons of ammonium nitrate that he said was stored in a beirut port warehouse for 6 years with safety measures he said and i'm quoting that this is unacceptable and that those responsible will receive the harshest punishment now there is an emergency cabinet meeting that's due to be held in a few hours. a decision is likely to be made that there will be a 2 week state of emergency today has also been declared

a national day of mourning for the victims of the explosion we understand that a uni full united nations interim force in lebanon ship was destroyed and unifil also reporting that any number of its peacekeepers were injured in this explosion at the same time we hear that the roof international airport has been damaged and the beirut governess saying and i'm quoting again here that the city is a disaster that there is an enormous scale of damage as i say there is chaos at the hospitals that turn people away we heard earlier. from an eyewitness. i saw something flash and i couldn't hear any more i looked at the taxi driver i wanted to make sure that he was having the same experience excuse in the same thing as me so i used on there's something wrong with me he stopped the car you looked back at me and then suddenly we heard very loud explosion the glass shattered all over the car the cars around us the buildings all the glass just run down it was raining

glass all over the city of beirut now the lebanese interior ministry has said that needs to be. a wait for the official results of the investigation that has been on wednesday and has urged people to stop speculating meanwhile the lebanese prime minister has said that a probe will be undertaken and that those responsible will pay the price he says that there will be accountability take a listen. we will reveal everything regarding this dangerous warehouse which has been there since 2014 and those responsible for the explosion in beirut will play in fool. now a host of countries have come forward to assist lebanon amongst them on canada the united states jordan the united kingdom and turkey cyprus iran qatar and france israel is another country that's come forward although the 2 countries are technically still at war israel offering humanitarian and medical assistance

through intermediaries we know that the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has instructed his national security chief to discuss possible aid to lebanon with the united nations coordinator for the peace process of the middle east now the israeli president has also offered his condolences both israel and hezbollah have denied any kind of responsibility for what has happened. to supposedly are there for us in tel aviv or you know as the story develops you will see it cross it for us thanks very much all right more the number of deaths is rising by the hour after a devastating explosion in the lebanese capital beirut. government officials say at least 73 people are dead and more than 3700 injured in these latest pictures paramedics can be seen rushing the injured to the hospital the

blast went off in the city's port area destroying buildings within a larger radius the exact cause is unclear but it is believed to have been linked to explosive materials that had been held at the port for around 6 years the world health organization has sent medical supplies including surgical kits to treat hundreds of wounded people in beirut a number of countries have promised to lend aid to lebanon. right from on the scene cross. who is a labor and human rights lawyer dan thanks very much for being with us here on r t international as always. such a bizarre set of circumstances lebanon's interior minister has said that the blast seems to have been caused by 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate that was being stored at the port how could that have been allowed well that's the question

isn't it you know the lebanese government is saying oh ever did it will be held accountable but if they knew it was there for 6 years and didn't properly stored i don't see how. you know folks in the government itself. how they won't be held accountable because it just seems. unfathomable forms of it this time around thing to happen so a number of come trees have offered humanitarian aid to lebanon what sort of help does the country actually need i mean it's medical infrastructure is already under immense strain. yeah one also they lebanon's been experiencing some of their worst economic crisis in the years so and this is their major port this is their connection to the world and it's been largely destroyed apparently there was food shipments also destroyed i mean this is an incredible tragedy

and levanon will need a lot of economic assistance they will need assistance to rebuild that port quickly so that they can trade so they can get medical supplies if they can get food. this is. an astronomical. a huge tragedy in and by the way i want to send my condolences to people in beirut and all of lebanon because this is just terrible don't you touch on something that's very important there 80 percent of lebanon's food imports do come through that specific port a many people are already struggling to eat in lebanon a little loan get the basic goods that they need to survive how devastating will this actually be for the country what will the consequences be. i mean sadly i think you're going to see 1st of all that the death count go up quite a bit i think you're going to see the pandemic spread because again their hospitals

were already overwhelmed by the pandemic before this even happened i think you're going to see hunger search i mean this is a national catastrophe for a lot of lebanon so lebannon as you just mentioned briefly touched on is experiencing crisis upon crisis upon crisis upon crisis i mean its banks are in dire straits the currency has plummeted in value there are food shortages this is not going to help and situation of course could this latest tragedy be a tipping point for the country. it could i mean even before this happened people were predicting that lebanon was very close to sinking into political turmoil and into chaos and this very well could could be the tipping point that leads to that. i couldn't wish this on anyone really so you can't talk about lisbon. without talking about hezbollah. they have called for national unity without colby heated

or is this likely to provoke. divisiveness within the country. i think it's hard to say look i think it ultimately it turns out that the cause of these chemicals being kept there for 6 years in obviously unsafe conditions. i think it's going to be hard to keep that country together you know if this was somehow extremely created that might unite the country but you know in the end if it's the government's fault then. you could see some sort of collapse in lebannon or identical. glad to have you with us as always to get your thanks ots on archie international hopefully we can come back to you to get more information on this as the situation develops appreciate it thank you thank you very much you are watching r.t. international we will continue our coverage of the situation of lebanon just after a short break stay with us are 2 international.

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welcome back this is our international live from moscow now the number of deaths in the lebanese capital is a rising by the hour after a devastating explosion rocked a beirut on tuesday now the explosion happened in the port area of the city it is a densely populated district with residential buildings nearby the blast has flattened buildings in the surrounding area and the shock waves were reportedly felt as far afield as cyprus the exact cause of the explosion is still unclear but lebanon's interior minister has said it happened in a warehouse storing ammonium nitrate a volatile chemical compound used in both fertilizers and explosives. i'm. all for.

3. things. we got reaction from joe child a resident of beirut who was just outside the city when the disaster happened take . us you know my soul fun. at the beginning i heard like i felt like a small earthquake which shook the earth and then mice i've heard a small band which later follow through the he would do one huge explosion which

was heard very loudly for an instant i thought it was somewhere around it was near me which apparently it was it wasn't because all was in beirut when while i was outside we were told it's basically like destruction of the moment well you can say like award there which has been you know there's no one at the moment to see the images at the moment. which is a really sad sight to see. risk people are struggling around. for fools driving around for money. because of the coronavirus in the financial situation so . they're trying to get up on their feet that same time and then. also suddenly got this explosion in the capital which is really really the onus. for more of this i'm joined live by michael arnold for the t r t world

a research center thanks for being with us here on our team international such an extraordinary circumstance lebanon's interior minister has said that the blast seems to have been caused by 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the port how could that have been allowed to have been there. yeah i mean that's that's the 1000000 dollar question so to speak i mean there's a lot of conflicting information right now some from the interior ministry have said that it was stored there on route to africa others including prime ministers that it was stored there for 6 years in any case whatever the case may be. the responsible party of course should be held to account the issue here of course is that you know those in the government specially within this new government has an idea which has been in office for the last several months you know there is an attempt to divert attention away from itself by placing the blame on others so for

example you had an official from the interior ministry saying that the lebanese people should ask those at customs who is responsible for storing this so what you're likely to see here unfortunately is a game of sort of passing the buck from one official to the next with nobody really wanting to step up and take responsibility for this whatever actually took place so a number of countries have actually offered humanitarian aid to lebanon so what sort of help does the country actually need i mean the medical infrastructure is already under immense strain do they need food do they need to support what kind of support what are we looking at for the future of lebanon. i mean look before this explosion took place lebanon was in need. of assistance of aid of a proper reform program there are the issue here is there are multiple issues built on top of one another in the 6 lotion and the devastation that is wrought in terms of human lives and destruction of infrastructure etc it is sort of the cherry on

top so it was weak what lebanon will need immediately is of course assistance with food not only have food prices been rising in the country but the very staple of bread for example which of course depends on wheat may be at risk in the situation because if imports are correct the largest great elevators in the country have been destroyed in this explosion up or for them or of course this being the only major port in the country the ability to get food aid into the country may also be a child's immediately of course there's going to be issues with the issues with the health care system of course which as previous guest mentioned is being overwhelmed by everything from not only 5 injured from today's question but also from the and then like that is currently expanding in the country as well ultimately though with lebanon needs is a problem reform program needs a cash injection from from the outside and in order to to release funds to people

so that they can actually get the economy would be again so as you can see there's compound issues here which make addressing this particular issue very challenging michael you've been to very good points well within one big point if i'm if i may say so you bring up the port and you bring up food 80 percent of lebanon's food comes through that specific port which was just destroyed many people are already struggling as you mentioned just to eat to survive how devastating will this actually be for the country i mean what will the consequences be realistically on the ground. you know i think it remains to be seen however what we do know for sure is that. it is beyond the destruction that we we've seen today which of course is tragic in terms of loss of life but we're likely to see a domino effect resulting from this immediate terms of supplies into the country not only the the the wheat that will destroy as you mentioned or it's coming into

the country but also in terms of potential political ramifications how anger that has. been towards the government and how that could play out in the coming weeks and months as well all right michael arnold from. t thank you very much for being with us here on our show international thank you for your 'd assessment of the situation. or we cannot cross it back to our middle east correspondent paula sleep in tel aviv paula what more can you tell us about the devastating a plouff motion in lebanon as the situation is rivaling and they're battling a fire and we're getting ready to come to grips with this whole thing. all right we seem to have lost paula there but let's give you an update on our breaking news situation right now at least 70 people have died in a devastating explosion in the lebanese capital beirut and more than 3700 are

injured according to the health ministry that's a lot of people the government says around a half of the building in beirut suffered damage half of the buildings in beirut have suffered damage in the blast the lebanese interior minister says the explosion appears to have been caused by a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate in the port area but it is still unclear whether the blast was an incident an accident or something that was deliberately the army has taken control of all districts near the port israel's defense ministry has offered humanitarian and medical assistance into lebanon 2 countries. still technically at war now turkey has also offered to send a medical to the country where intensive care units are reportedly on able to cope with the huge influx of injured patients let's go across live. there but all of this is live t.v. we've got you back we're glad for that give us an update what more can you tell us

about the incident there in beirut. well just to bring up to speed on what we're hearing in terms of the speculation as to whether or not israel or his was behind this as you were quickly saying we are hearing denials from both sides that they were in any way involved sources close to his beloved all saying that it was not israeli and hezbollah saying that there is no truth to rumors that the strike was on one of its weapons cache this has been one of the remus that has been circulating and i just want to point back to a speech that the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu made in 2018 at the united nations he pointed to the airport and he said it was a civilian science when his story missiles so that is fueling some of the speculation that israel might have been behind the strike but the official word from the israeli side is that they were not involved and we are hearing the same from his blessed side as well the lebanese president has taken to twitter where he

has said that the blast was caused by 2700 tons of ammonium nitrate that was stored in a beirut port warehouse for 6 years without any kind of safety measures he says and i'm quoting that this is unacceptable and that the those responsible will receive the hospice punishments later this morning and they will be an emergency cabinet meeting in beirut and it is unlikely event of a 2 week state of emergency will be called for today is also be declared a national day of mourning for the victims of the blast which is the most serious last the biggest lost in lebanon's history. the latest figures we have all that 73 people have been killed and some 3700 people have been injured but those figures on lakita climb as they have been over the past few hours and we understand that emergency personnel are still searching through the wreckage looking for survivors and hours later you still have ambulances on the scene at all ferrying wounded to

hospitals that are overcrowded and in a state of chaos at the same time helicopters army helicopters are flying overhead to try and bring the fires under control so certainly a very dire situation that we see in beirut tonight and into the early hours of the morning. so we're keeping across the situation for us it is likely to develop even more i'm sure we know that will come back to you throughout the evening stay with us this is our 2 international. news from beirut will be across. is you'll be via reflection of reality.

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