Huge Fire in Beirut Port Just Over a Month After Explosion Destroyed the City | 22 Words

It has been reported that a fire has broken out at the Beirut port, just one month after a devastating explosion destroyed the city...

The people of Beirut just can't catch a break, can they?

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 Just 4 weeks after the shocking blast, the residents of the Lebanese capital are faced with yet another grave problem.

It all started on August 4th.

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 At around 6 pm local time, a sudden and devastating explosion ripped through Lebanon's capital city.

The footage from the blast was truly horrifying.

Filmed by a witness standing around 10km away from the blast, the mushroom-cloud explosion could be seen rocking nearby buildings, shattering windows, and demolishing everything in its path.

Throughout the day, different videos of the explosion began to emerge...

And, as they did, the realization of the severity of the situation began to slowly sink in.

Hundreds of thousands of buildings were wiped out in the blast...

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 Leaving nearly 300,000 people homeless.

Initially, it was unclear as to how many people were injured.

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 But it has since been confirmed that at least 190 people have died, with a further 6,500 people suffering from grave injuries.

At first, an explanation for the blast was nowhere to be seen.

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 But it later emerged that a huge cache of ammonium nitrate, an explosive compound commonly used in the construction of bombs, had been stored at the building in which the blast had occurred.

The explosive material had been seized by the government 6 years ago...

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 And was then placed at the explosion site, according to top Lebanese officials.

An accidental fire was sparked at the warehouse...

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 And it was this fire that is believed to have triggered the explosion of the ammunition.

Officials have stated that they are working hard at finding the party responsible for the devastating explosion.

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 In a televised statement, Prime Minister Diab was quoted as saying: "I will not relax until we find the responsible party for what happened, hold it accountable and apply the most serious punishments against it because it isn’t acceptable that a shipment of ammonium nitrate - estimated to be 2,750 tons - was in a depot for the past 6 years without precautionary measures being taken."

Footage from the aftermath continued to emerge online...

In which people could be seen wandering around, dazed and disoriented, amongst the crumbling builds and smoking rubble.

It was utterly heartwrenching to see...

A once vibrant and bustling metropolis now lay in smoke and tatters.

Satellite images of the city before and after the explosion have highlighted the sheer scale of the devastation...

It is going to take Beirut years to recover from this.

But now, as the rebuild slowly begins...

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 Beirut's residents have been faced with yet another devastating event.

It has been reported that, at the site of the explosion...

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 Yet another fire has broken out.

This video was posted onto Twitter, alongside the caption:

"Insane fire at the port, causing a panic all across #Beirut. We just can’t catch a break."

Valiant efforts are being made to put the fire out.

It has been reported that the Lebanese army have been drafted in to help fight the fire alongside the emergency services, and helicopters have been seen over the city carrying large buckets of water to attempt to douse the blaze.

Local media has reported that people in the surrounding area have started to be evacuated...

But, of course, panic is rife, and some residents have been seen getting into their cars with the intention of leaving the city.

As of yet, the direct cause of the fire is unknown.

But a source from the Lebanese military told Metro that the fire started in a warehouse being used to store oil and tyres.

This is a developing story, and we will post updates accordingly.

Our thoughts go out to the people of Beirut.