>>Beirut stunned and wounded

• Investigators search wreckage for clues, survivors • Port officials put under house arrest • Explosives lying in godowns for 6 years • Rafik Hariri verdict put off until August 18

The sound of ambulance sirens and the shoveling of glass and rubble could be heard across the Lebanese capital. Almost nothing was left untouched by the blast, which obliterated the port and sent a tide of destruction through the city centre.

Elegant stone buildings, fashionable shopping districts and long stretches of the famed seaside promenade were reduced to rubble within seconds of Tuesday’s blast. The explosion appeared to have been caused by a blaze at a fireworks warehouse that ignited a stockpile of ammonium nitrate stored at the port since 2013.

At least 135 people were killed and some 5,000 wounded. The number of dead was expected to rise as rescuers sifted through the rubble.

Investigators began searching the wreckage for clues to the cause of the massive explosion as the government ordered port officials put under house arrest.

The investigation is focusing on how 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate came to be stored at the facility for six years, and why nothing was done about it.

International aid flights began to arrive, as Lebanon’s leaders struggled to deal with the aftermath of Tuesday’s blast.

An official letter surfaced online showing that the head of the customs department had warned repeatedly over the years that a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate stored in a hangar in the port was a danger and asked for a way to remove it.

Prosecutors in France opened an investigation on Wednesday after 21 French citizens were wounded in the devastating blast, the Paris prosecutor said.

The prosecutors opened a probe into “involuntary injury” using their jurisdiction to investigate acts committed abroad, Paris prosecutor Remy Heintz said in a statement.

“Beirut is gone” said Mohammed Saad, an out-of-town driver making his way through the mangled streets.

“We don’t deserve this,” said Riwa Baltagi, a 23-year-old who was helping friends retrieve valuables from their demolished homes.

Some of the worst damage was in the leafy neighbourhoods of Mar Mikhael and Gemayzeh, where the blast damaged some of the few historic buildings that survived the 1975-1990 civil war. Balconies had dropped to street level, where shops and restaurants were buried and chairs and tables turned upside down.

“I have nowhere to go,” a woman said as she wept in what remained of her home in Gemayzeh. “What am I supposed to do?” she screamed into her mobile phone.

Furniture and cushions were strewn along the streets amid the endless shards of glass.

The damage could be seen across town in the popular shopping district of Hamra, and at the international airport south of the city. The blast could be felt as far off as Cyprus, a Mediterranean island some 200 kilometres away.

Few lamented the damage at the headquarters of the state electricity company, a symbol of the corruption and poor governance that has bedeviled Lebanon since the end of the war.

Many blamed the latest catastrophe on the country’s long-entrenched political class.

A UN-backed tribunal said on Wednesday it had suspended a verdict on the 2005 murder of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri following the deadly blast in Beirut.

The court’s decision was due on Friday but the ruling has been postponed until August 18, the court said in a statement. —

Our prayers during these difficult hours are that God... protects brotherly Lebanon and the Lebanese to reduce their affliction and heal their wounds.

Dr Anwar Gargash, UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs

We will not rest until we find those responsible for what happened, hold them accountable, and impose maximum punishment.

Hassan Diab, Lebanon’s Prime Minister

We have a very good relationship with the people of Lebanon and we will be there to help. It looks like a terrible attack.

Donald trump, US President

The pictures and videos from Beirut tonight are shocking. All of my thoughts and prayers are with those caught up in this terrible incident.

Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister