BEIRUT/ATHENS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th August, 2020) The powerful blast that hit the port of Beirut on Tuesday evening was felt even in the Lebanese capital's suburbs, local residents told Sputnik.
"I returned home, and the clock showed 5:11 p.m. [14:11]. Suddenly I felt that a strong jolt shook the house. I thought it was an earthquake, then I found shards of window glass that scattered all over the house," Natalia Hasami, a resident of the Hazmiyeh suburb, said.
According to her, her neighbors saw something like a giant black cloud crushing on the ground.
Cyprus' Sigma channel, meanwhile, reported that the sound of the explosion had been heard even in Nicosia, which is located 155 miles away from Beirut.
The blast took place at 5:11 p.m local time. It began as a short bang, five minutes later white and black smoke emerged and then a powerful blast followed, launching a heavy stream of red smoke into the air. According to the Lebanese National news Agency, the epicenter of the explosion was in the port's pyrotechnics warehouse.
Preliminary reports suggest at least six people were killed and hundreds of others wounded as the explosion wave reached residential houses miles away from the epicenter.
