Pakistani child killed in Beirut blast, confirms ambassador to Lebanon

By Muhammad YaseenPublished On 06 Jan 2023

BEIRUT: Pakistan’s Ambassador to Lebanon Najeeb Durrani on Wednesday confirmed the death of a Pakistani child in a devastating Beirut blast that claimed at least 135 lives.

Najeeb Durrani said that one Pakistani family was affected in the Beirut blast. “A 14-year-old child died and four other family members sustained wounds in the explosion,” he said as all four injured are said to be out of danger.

He said that no other Pakistani family was harmed in the incident.

According to the Reuters report, Lebanese rescue teams pulled out bodies and hunted for missing in the wreckage of buildings on Wednesday as investigations blamed negligence for a massive warehouse explosion that sent a devastating blast wave across Beirut, killing at least 135.

More than 5,000 other people were injured in Tuesday’s explosion at Beirut port, Health Minister Hamad Hassan said, and up to 250,000 were left without homes fit to live in after shockwaves smashed building facades, sucked furniture out into streets and shattered windows miles inland.

The death toll was expected to rise from the blast, which officials blamed on a huge stockpile of highly explosive material stored for years in unsafe conditions at the port.

President Michel Aoun said 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, used in fertilisers and bombs, had been stored for six years at the port without safety measures after it was seized.

In an address to the nation during an emergency cabinet session, Aoun said: “No words can describe the horror that has hit Beirut last night, turning it into a disaster-stricken city”.