Explosion in Beirut generated 3.3 quake, experts say 4:43
(CNN) - Photojournalist Bilal Jawich was at his home on the outskirts of Beirut when an explosion, which left at least 100 dead and thousands injured, shook the Lebanese capital.
"I followed the smoke until I reached the port of Beirut," he told CNN Arabic, explaining that "professional intuition" took him to Al Roum hospital in Ashrafieh district. The area was devastated by the explosion.
MIRA: This is how the port of Beirut was: satellite images show the before and after the explosion
What he saw there was memorable.
"I was surprised to see a nurse holding three newborns," said Jawich. "I noticed the calm of the nurse, which contrasted with the surrounding atmosphere just a meter away." Several dead and wounded people lay nearby, he said.
However, it seemed that the nurse possessed a hidden strength that gave her self-control and the ability to save these children. People stand out in the midst of these violent, dark and evil circumstances and this nurse was up to the task, "he said.
Jawich said the nurse told him later that night that he was in the maternity ward when the explosion occurred. She said she was knocked unconscious and that when she came to, "she found herself carrying these three children," she told CNN Arabic.
(Bilal Jawich / Xinhua via Getty) (Xinhua / via Getty Images)
Not everyone in the hospital was so lucky. George Saad, the hospital's emergency and disaster preparedness manager, told CNN that 12 patients, two visitors and four nurses died yesterday in the incident, while two remain in critical condition. About 80% of the hospital had been damaged, along with 50% of its equipment, he said.
Saad told CNN that the babies and their mothers were transferred to other hospitals.
MIRA: Beirut explosion: this is what we know of the investigation, the victims and the damage so far
It is still not exactly clear what caused the blast that swept through entire streets of the coastal capital. The explosion has been linked to a large supply of confiscated and potentially uninsured explosive material, stored in a warehouse at the city's port, near populated areas.
Explosion in Beirut