Beirut redoubles rescue efforts; patients continue to surge to exhausted hospitals
As rescue efforts continue in Beirut following Tuesday's explosion, a wave of new patients seek care at damaged, overworked hospitals.
Rescue efforts began almost immediately after Tuesday’s massive explosion rocked Beirut and its surrounding area, in total affecting over 2 million people, in a crisis that has flooded already overworked hospital staff.
On Wednesday, residents began clearing glass and rubble strewn across the city, sweeping popular streets and neighborhoods in places such as Gemayzeh and Mar Mikhael. They helped clear the path for rescue workers to begin searching for missing people.
At least 149 people were reported killed and about 5,000 injured by the blast, and officials expect the death toll to rise. The destruction has left hundreds of thousands homeless and many people are missing.
The explosion occurred after a warehouse fire at the Beirut Port spread to a warehouse holding 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate. According to reports, the stockpile had been there over six years without proper safety measures in place, amid failed efforts by port officials to have the chemicals removed.
