An explosion in Beirut has torn through the city, leaving at least 135 people dead and around 5,000 injured. This is how the tragic incident took place. Get more on this story here:
The size of the explosion that ripped through the port in the Lebanese capital Beirut has shocked the world.
It is believed fireworks being stored there had caught fire - and several videos of the scene show coloured flashes in the flames.
Then, around 8.30pm local time, Lebanon's internal security chief Abbas Ibrahim said the blast had occurred in a section of the port housing highly explosive materials that had been confiscated from a ship some time ago and stored. The silo that was destroyed next to the blast site reportedly housed 85% of Lebanon's supply of grain, which was a strategic food reserve in a country crippled by an economic meltdown.
Dr David Slater, honorary professor at Cardiff University, said: "The videos clearly show the blast wave and the characteristic brown red NO2 plume of smoke."
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