Country’s President Michel Aoun said the blast was caused by 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely in a warehouse, BBC reported.
The explosion killed at least 135 people and injured more than 4,000 others. A two-week state of emergency has begun, according to the news agency.
At least 2,750 tons of the ammonium nitrate – which is used as a fertilizer in agriculture and as an explosive – had reportedly been kept in a warehouse in a Lebanese capital’s port for six years.
A blaze set off the explosion in the city’s port area, which shattered windows and collapsed apartment balconies, witnesses and security sources said to media.
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