A man was found alive 30 hours after he was blown into the sea when a huge explosion tore through the city of Beirut.
The massive chemical blast killed at least 135 people and injured 5,000, the health minister said. But officers said that the death toll is likely to rise.
Many are still unaccounted for in Beirut, which authorities have now called a ‘disaster city’ after 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate burst into flames.
Amin al-Zahed, a Port worker, was discovered in the Mediterranean Sea 30 hours after the explosion devastated the city.
He was taken to Rafic Hariri University Hospital in Beirut but his family told Lebanese TV that they had checked the hospital and couldn’t find him.
After the blast, an Instagram page ‘locate victims Beirut’ was created to help find the missing persons.
Videos emerged of rescue workers finding a young girl who spent 24 hours under the ruins.
People have been searching for their missing relatives under the rubbles. Some were heard shouting ‘Issam is alive!’ as an injured man was put on a stretcher and rushed to a hospital.
A nurse was also hailed a hero for not thinking twice as she saved three babies from a hospital that was destroyed by the explosion.
Four other nurses were killed at the hospital from the blast that injured 200 patients.
Prime Minister Hassan Diab declared a two-week state of emergency as he vowed those responsible will ‘pay the price.’ He also urges ‘friends of Lebanon’ and world leaders to donate aid, saying, “We are witnessing a real catastrophe.”
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Replaced!