A powerful blast that ripped through Beirut killed 140 and injured over 5,000 people

The Government of India has extended its helping hand to the Government of Lebanon following the deadly blast in Lebanese capital Beirut on August 4. Sify.com has reported that India has requested the Lebanese government to share the assessment of damage so that the government can offer the required assistance.

According to an ANI report published by Sify.com, the government made the move yesterday so that it can decide on the nature and type of assistance to be made.

At the weekly media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Anurag Srivastava, gave a statement on the same. He said, “We have sought an assessment on damage from Lebanon. On its basis we will decide the nature of assistance that we will extend to them. There have been no reported casualties among Indians, only 5 minor injuries.”

On August 4, a powerful blast ripped through Beirut, the capital of Lebanon killing 140 and injuring over 5,000 people. Sify.com reported that the blast was caused by the improper storage of over 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate. The blast was so powerful that it demolished almost half of the city and made around 3 lakh people homeless.

According to other media reports, several demonstrators angry over the negligence of the government related to the storage of an explosive product in enormous volume, clashed with the security forces. The forces fired tear gas and water cannons and took other measures to disperse the crowd.