Unseen footage shows moment of Beirut blast
This is the shocking explosion that rocked Beirut, Lebanon on Tuesday (August 4) at approximately 6pm local time, as local officials expect upwards of hundreds of casualties.
Early reports have been conflicting, with some indicating the explosion was caused by fireworks and other officials saying it was highly explosive materials.
Dusky red air hangs over the city in the wake of the explosion as firefighting teams rushed to the scene to try to put out the fire. At least 10 firefighters were missing, according to the city's governor Marwan Abboud, who said the scene reminded him of "Hiroshima and Nagasaki," referencing the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan by the United States in World War II.
Local bicycle shop owner Karim Sokhn captured the heart-stopping moment, telling Newsflare his store was severely damaged.
“They’ve evacuated us and we have no access now,” Sokhn tells Newsflare.
In a phone interview with Newsflare, he described what happened: "I was in the bike shop fixing a bicycle. There was a first explosion. I went out and I thought there was a lot of smoke. When I took my phone to film, to capture the moment, the moment I pressed record, the second blast went out. All i remember is falling and a wave of dust hit.
"Then I was in shock for five minutes.
"I did not know what was going on. I heard hundreds of screaming people, all over - screams and screams. It was shocking. I called my dad, told him there was an explosion in Beirut, I told him I was fine and then hung up. It's like a war zone here.
"It felt like when the second blast happened, the air was sucked up - you feel like the air is being sucked up and then you hear the blast. My ears felt blocked. I heard windows shattering all over the place, it's crazy."
Further previously unseen footage shows the smoke emanating from the explosion and footage of Sokhn’s bike shop from an earlier Instagram post.
Early reports have been conflicting, with some indicating the explosion was caused by fireworks and other officials saying it was highly explosive materials.
Dusky red air hangs over the city in the wake of the explosion as firefighting teams rushed to the scene to try to put out the fire. At least 10 firefighters were missing, according to the city's governor Marwan Abboud, who said the scene reminded him of "Hiroshima and Nagasaki," referencing the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan by the United States in World War II.
Local bicycle shop owner Karim Sokhn captured the heart-stopping moment, telling Newsflare his store was severely damaged.
“They’ve evacuated us and we have no access now,” Sokhn tells Newsflare.
In a phone interview with Newsflare, he described what happened: "I was in the bike shop fixing a bicycle. There was a first explosion. I went out and I thought there was a lot of smoke. When I took my phone to film, to capture the moment, the moment I pressed record, the second blast went out. All i remember is falling and a wave of dust hit.
"Then I was in shock for five minutes.
"I did not know what was going on. I heard hundreds of screaming people, all over - screams and screams. It was shocking. I called my dad, told him there was an explosion in Beirut, I told him I was fine and then hung up. It's like a war zone here.
"It felt like when the second blast happened, the air was sucked up - you feel like the air is being sucked up and then you hear the blast. My ears felt blocked. I heard windows shattering all over the place, it's crazy."
Further previously unseen footage shows the smoke emanating from the explosion and footage of Sokhn’s bike shop from an earlier Instagram post.
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