The explosion that occurred in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Tuesday evening has had a disastrous impact on the city and its people. According to the Lebanese Red Cross, the death toll has risen to 135 dead and about 5,000 injured, with numbers expected to increase in the coming days. The explosion took place in the city’s port causing incredible damage to the entire area and neighboring parts of Beirut, including its nightlife and nightclub district.
Allegedly caused by 2700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate which had been stored in a warehouse, the blast wave across Beirut has had a catastrophic impact on the capital, “virtually wiping out” the nightlife and nightclub district that has been so instrumental in putting Beirut’s music scene on the world’s map.
Journalist Martin Chulov, who is on the ground for The Guardian, states that the “whole nightclub district [has been] virtually wiped out.”
A long list of nightclubs and bars were close to the site of the explosion, including, Mixmag reports, The Gärten (pictured above), The Ballroom Blitz, The Grand Factory, AHM and B018.
Speaking to Mixmag, co-founder of The Ballroom Blitz Moe Choucair explained how the explosion has impacted the nightclub district of Beirut:
“The explosion destroyed Beirut and shook the entire country. There are thousands injured, more than a hundred dead and the numbers are still going up by the minute. We’ve stopped thinking as a club and started thinking as a team of individuals pooling ideas to try and help in the most efficient way we can think of. Our establishment is the least of our concern right now because of the huge impact and urgency to react to this catastrophe.
“The explanations are still going in all directions. There is a massive distrust in our government concerning the investigation and judiciary follow up. The implications can be most drastic politically and socially. This can be a massive turning point for Lebanon, the next days will be very hard. Our deepest condolences go to the families that lost children, parents and siblings.
“The Lebanese people were in a very bad position in recent months and this will be very hard to get over. For people who want to help, here are a couple of links: [donate to the] Lebanese Red Cross and [hunger relief initiative]FoodBlessed.”
According to the governor of Beirut, Marwan Abboud, who burst into tears on live TV during an interview with Sky Arabia, there are damages totaling 3-5 billion dollars, with over “over 300,000” Lebanese citizens “unable to sleep in their homes” due to this.
While there is much speculation as to the causes of the blast, Lebanese officials including the country’s President Michel Aoun have reported that explosion has been caused by a load of over 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in port hangar 12 after being confiscated in 2013 from a Russian ship flying the Moldovan flag. The Lebanese President has called out the lack of safety measures taken as unacceptable and has ordered an investigation to be done to identify who is responsible.
