UK to send emergency relief to Lebanon following Beirut explosion
The UK will provide £5m in aid to Beirut, including search and rescue help and expert medical support after the explosion at Beirut Port yesterday.
An explosion in the Lebanese capital yesterday left thousands injured with a death toll of more than 100.
Following a call with the Prime Minister of Lebanon Hassan Diab, the foreign secretary said the UK had made up to £5m in emergency funding available help people made homeless by the disaster.
“This was a devastating explosion which has caused enormous suffering and damage. The UK is a long-standing friend of Lebanon and the Lebanese people, and will stand with them in their hour of need,” said Dominic Raab.
“We have offered immediate direct support including search and rescue, emergency medical assistance and up to £5m in humanitarian aid.”
He also offered to immediately deploy search and rescue teams alongside an EMT advance clinical advisory team.
Yesterday’s blast at Beirut’s port warehouses was the most powerful in years and was felt as far away as Cyprus.
Officials have not yet said what caused the explosion but local media have suggested it was started by welding work being carried out on a hole in the warehouse.
President Michel Aoun said that 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate had been stored for six years at the port without safety measures, which he said was “unacceptable”.
Last night Prime Minister Boris Johnson joined others in offering their support to Lebanon.
“The pictures and videos from Beirut tonight are shocking,” Johnson wrote on Twitter. “All of my thoughts and prayers are with those caught up in this terrible incident.
It comes at an incredibly difficult time for Lebanon, which is reeling from an economic crisis and a surge in coronavirus infections. The pandemic has compounded government corruption and financial mismanagement.
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