Number Of Victims In Beirut Blast Might Be About 100 With Over 4,000 Injured - Red Cross

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th August, 2020) The death toll from a powerful explosion in the port of Beirut might be about 100 people, while 4,000 more have been injured in the blast, Lebanese Red Cross (LRC) Secretary General George Kettaneh told LBCI tv channel on Wednesday.

A powerful explosion occurred in the port area of Beirut on Tuesday evening. The city governor said half of the city's buildings were damaged, and hospitals were overcrowded due to a large number of those injured. According to the Health Ministry, more than 4,000 people were injured, and at least 78 died.

"We have data on more than 4,000 injured people, some of them are in serious condition, as well as on the number of deaths, there can be hundreds of them. Some of the victims continue to be under the rubble of collapsed buildings," Kettaneh told the broadcaster.

The LRC head said that his organization continued to receive many calls about the dead and injured people, as well as those blocked in destroyed buildings, who have not been rescued yet. Kettaneh called on the Lebanese authorities to actively transfer wounded people to facilities outside of Beirut, as the city's hospitals were overcrowded.