“I never heard anything like it, even during the worst bombings of the Civil War (1975-1990). May God protect us ! The sixty-year-old lady continues on her way, running awkwardly, in the opposite direction of the immense mushroom of white smoke which rises above Beirut. We are in Achrafié, a district overlooking the port of the Lebanese capital.
A huge explosion has just sounded, followed by a powerful blast that pinches us to the ground. Dust rushes into the streets, trees bend, windows shatter, children cry, car alarms go off almost simultaneously. The scene is apocalyptic.
"It reminded me of the bombings of the Civil War"
Panic seizes the city and its inhabitants. A motorist stops his 4x4 with a screeching of tires at our height. " What happened ? He calls in a trembling voice, looking in the direction of the thick mushroom of smoke which advances inexorably. His face crestfallen with fear, he turns around and disappears in a cloud of dust.
VIDEO. Lebanon: two strong explosions shake Beirut, dead and wounded
"It's the end, the end," cries a young man, stepping over an iron gate torn off by the blast of the blast. The craziest rumors, conveyed by social networks, fuel fear and amplify panic. "It is the house of (former Prime Minister) Saad Hariri that was targeted by an attack," laments Ahmad, a daily worker. "It was Israeli planes that attacked a Hezbollah arms warehouse," says Georgette, brandishing her cell phone on which is displayed a dispatch attributed to an Israeli newspaper.
"Lebanon is cursed"
The fake news kept the tension going all evening. Faced with the scale of the disaster, hospitals are overwhelmed. The American hospital in Beirut, one of the largest establishments in the country, is overcrowded. The Saint-Georges hospital, badly damaged by the explosion, was unable to accommodate the wounded.
Of the port of Beirut, only smoking ruins remain. “It looks like the Battle of Stalingrad,” Tony says, staring at his screen. Even silos have been hit as the country goes through an unprecedented economic crisis.
Many Lebanese felt the explosion from their homes, such as Nareg, 19, who lives 3 km from the port. “I was with my brother and my cousin, at home on the balcony. I heard a strange noise, like an airplane. I told everyone to run inside the house. Then there was the explosion. The windows were open so they did not break, but the doors and windows of our neighbors' house were destroyed. Cars too. I was inside, hidden, when the explosion happened. "
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He was able to take his neighbors' children and hide in a bunker. “People are dying in front of my window on the way to the hospital,” explains the young man. I've seen a lot of explosions in my life. I am from Syria. But this explosion was huge. "
Jean, 49, was also in his apartment on a hill in Beirut in the Hazmieh Mar takla neighborhood. “I was in the living room, I felt like an earthquake, and after a few seconds a huge explosion, says this Franco Lebanese who divides his life between Carpiquet (Calvados) and Beirut. Suddenly I panicked, I lived part of the war in Lebanon and it reminded me of the bombings. Fortunately, I managed to contact my family there who are all fine. We send each other photos of the material damage. We are awaiting further information. "
“Lebanon is cursed. The relentlessness and corruption of its elites will eventually destroy it, ”says Ramez. This young 25-year-old graduate in computer engineering can only think of one thing: "Go anywhere, far from this inhospitable land".
