Sri Lankan national injured in Beirut explosion – Embassy
August 5, 2020 11:47 am
A Sri Lankan national has sustained injuries in the massive explosion that rocked the Lebanese capital, Beirut city, on Tuesday (04), the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Beirut said.
Sri Lankan Ambassador to Lebanon, Mrs. D.P.C.W. Karunaratne said the authorities are looking for further information in this regard.
Approximately 25,000 Sri Lankans are employed in this Western Asian country bordered by Syria and Israel.
Foreign media reported that at least 78 people were killed and more than 3,000 were injured in this blast which struck with the force of a 3.5 magnitude earthquake.
President of Lebanon, Michel Aoun has declared a three-day mourning period and stated that the government would release 100 billion lira (£50.5m; $66m) of emergency funds.
Investigations are underway to determine the exact cause of the explosion, however, the Lebanese officials have begun to look into ammonium nitrate that was kept in a warehouse near the port where the incident happened.
