Explosions erupted in Lebanon’s capital on Tuesday evening, leveling buildings, damaging hospitals and shattering windows miles away. At least 78 people were killed.
A shockwave raced from the site of the blasts, Beirut’s industrial waterfront, into the city’s densely populated residential neighborhoods and shopping districts downtown. Dozens of nearby buildings collapsed or were severely damaged, imagery from the aftermath showed.
Patients evacuated
from Karantina
Hospital
Beirut Port Silos
and surrounding
buildings severely
damaged
Warehouse storing
‘explosive materials’
Warehouses destroyed
or damaged
Glass blankets ground
in upscale shopping district
Façade stripped
off towers
Storefronts
shattered downtown
Damage at
Grand Serail
Palace
St. George
Hospital damaged
Wounded children
in Gemmayzeh
Damage at Sodeco
Square mall
Apartment windows
blown out in Achrafieh
Damage at Hotel Dieu
hospital, where around
400 injured people
were later taken
Patients evacuated
from Karantina
Hospital
Beirut Port Silos
and surrounding
buildings severely
damaged
Warehouse storing
‘explosive materials’
Warehouses destroyed
or damaged
Glass blankets ground
in upscale shopping district
Façade stripped
off towers
Storefronts
shattered downtown
Damage at
Grand Serail
Palace
St. George
Hospital damaged
Wounded children
in Gemmayzeh
Damage at Sodeco
Square mall
Apartment windows
blown out in Achrafieh
Damage at Hotel Dieu
hospital, where around
400 injured people
were later taken
Patients
evacuated
from Karantina
Hospital
Beirut Port Silos
and surrounding
buildings severely
damaged
Warehouse storing
‘explosive materials’
Warehouses destroyed
or damaged
Glass blankets ground
in upscale shopping district
Façade stripped
off towers
Storefronts
shattered downtown
Damage at
Grand Serail
Palace
St. George
Hospital damaged
Damage at Sodeco
Square mall
Apartment windows
blown out in Achrafieh
Damage at Hotel Dieu
hospital, where around
400 injured people
were later taken
Beirut Port Silos
and surrounding
buildings severely
damaged
Warehouse storing
‘explosive materials’
Warehouses destroyed
or damaged
Glass blankets ground
in upscale shopping district
Façade stripped
off towers
Storefronts
shattered downtown
St. George
Hospital damaged
Damage at Sodeco
Square mall
Apartment windows
blown out in Achrafieh
Damage at Hotel Dieu
hospital, where around
400 injured people
were later taken
Beirut Port Silos
and surrounding
buildings severely
damaged
Warehouse storing
‘explosive materials’
Warehouses destroyed
or damaged
Façade stripped
off towers
Storefronts
shattered downtown
St. George
Hospital
damaged
Damage at Sodeco
Square mall
Apartment windows
blown out in Achrafieh
Damage at Hotel Dieu
hospital, where around
400 injured people
were later taken
By The New York Times·Source: Imagery of the damage. Satellite image from Bing. Street data from OpenStreetMap.
The second of the two blasts could be heard in Cyprus, more than 100 miles away. Broken glass and debris could be seen two miles away, encompassing an area where more than 750,000 people live.
By The New York Times. Population figures are approximate. Population data from WorldPop, University of Southampton. Satellite image from Bing.
It’s not yet clear exactly what caused the blasts. But officials in the Lebanese capital said 2,750 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate had been stored in a depot at the center of the explosion.
The explosions erupted next to a tall building called the Beirut Port Silos, which could be seen partially collapsed amid the rubble of nearby buildings. Several fires burned across the port area, seen in this panoramic image.
Panoramic image by The New York Times, stitched together from several photos from the site.
Videos and photos taken from the scene showed a thick cloud of grey smoke hovering over the Medditeranean before an enormous burst of red and orange fumes exploded into the sky.