»»135 dead, 5000 injured and 300,000 homeless in Beirut hell

RESCUERS continued a desperate hunt for survivors in ruined Beirut yesterday as it emerged the Lebanese capital was hit by the equivalent of a nuclear blast.

A state of emergency was in place as the death toll from Tuesday’s explosion hit 135, with more than 5000 injured and 300,000 homeless.

The blast had the force of a 3.5-magnitude earthquake, according to German geoscientists, and was heard and felt as far away as Cyprus.

Defence analyst Bruce Jones said: “This explosion was one of immense power that is comparable to a nuclear explosion.

“Not only was the blast the power of a one-kiloton nuclear explosion but you could measure the horror by comparing it to Hiroshima. Hiroshima was virtually levelled but it was only around 15 times the strength of what we saw in Beirut.”

Lebanon’s president, Michel Aoun, said in an address to the nation: “No words can describe the horror that has hit Beirut, turning it into a disaster-stricken city.” He said the government was “determined to investigate and expose what happened, to hold the responsible and the negligent accountable”. The explosion in the port area was the most powerful ever seen in the city, which has suffered the 1975-90 civil war, Israeli bombing campaigns and terror atrocities. There was initial speculation that the blast QUIZ Russian businessman Grechushkin was an attack. But interior minister Mohammed Fahmi confirmed it was most likely caused after a fire ignited 2700 tons of ammonium nitrate fertiliser stored in a warehouse in the port.

It was speculated workmen welding nearby sparked the disaster – and the probe will also look into Russian businessman Igor Grechushkin, whose ship transferred the hazardous load to Beirut in 2014.

The army is now in control of the city, which suffered an estimated £3.8billion of damage.

The blast smashed buildings 10 miles away and threw cars through the air. Witnesses