A massive explosion rocked Beirut on Tuesday, flattening much of the port, damaging buildings across the capital and sending a giant mushroom cloud into the sky. At least 50 people were killed and 2,500 injured, with bodies buried in the rubble, officials said.

Hours later, ambulances still carried

away the wounded as army helicopters helped battle fires raging at the port.

The sudden devastation overwhelmed a

country already struggling with both the coronavirus pandemic and an economic

crisis: Beirut hospitals quickly filled beyond capacity, pleading for blood

supplies and generators to keep their lights on.

The cause of the blast, which sparked

fires, overturned cars and blew out windows and doors, was not immediately

known.

Abbas Ibrahim, chief of Lebanese

General Security, said it might have been caused by highly explosive material

that was confiscated from a ship some time ago and stored at the port. Local

television channel LBC said the material was sodium nitrate.

Witnesses reported seeing a strange

orange-coloured cloud over the site after the explosion. Orange clouds of toxic

nitrogen dioxide gas often accompany an explosion involving nitrates.

The blast was stunning even for a

city that has seen civil war, suicide bombings and bombardment by Israel. It

could be heard and felt as far away as Cyprus, more than 200 kilometres (180

miles) across the Mediterranean.

 The blast came at a time when Lebanon’s

economy is facing collapse from the financial crisis and the coronavirus

restrictions. Many have lost jobs, while the worth of their savings has

evaporated as the currency has plunged in value against the dollar. The result

has thrown many into poverty.

It also occurred amid rising tensions between Israel and the militant Hezbollah group along Lebanon’s southern border.

–AP