‘I’m seeing an apocalypse’: journalist Sara Moussa describes Beirut blast horror
People screaming, crying, bleeding. Every window smashed. These are the scenes in Beirut in the wake of devastating explosion.
Devastated Beirut is “in a state of agony, a state of pain”.
Journalist Sara Moussa, who assists with translations for The Australian’s coverage in Lebanon, said she was worried for her country after she witnessed “the whole place destroyed”.
“I don’t know how the country will get out of this,” she said in a series of voice messages this morning.
“I don’t think anyone knows what tomorrow will hold.”
Her first thought was there had been a shocking repeat — but ten times stronger — of the 2005 truck bomb assassination of ex-prime minister Rafic Hariri and 21 others.
“It felt like it is another series of assassinations,” she said.
“Lebanon is going through a very harsh economic crisis and the explosion and smoke looked like it came from Hariri’s house (where his son, ex-prime minister Saad Hariri currently lives).”
Ms Moussa took the streets straight away, flagging down a taxi with a smashed windscreen, to get downtown.
“I am seeing an apocalypse,” she said.
“People are shouting, motorcycles screaming by, every single window is smashed, every single window. Through all the windows, people are crying, people are bleeding, some of the windows fell on cars on the street.
“The taxi driver is crying, driving to downtown. I have never seen anything like this — I cover a lot of news, but nothing like this. The whole place is destroyed, I don’t know how the country will get out of this.’’
On her way to the port Ms Moussa stopped and asked government officials and army soldiers on the street what was happening, but everyone was confused.
“No one knows if it’s an Israeli attack, or a terrorist attack or an explosion at the warehouse in the port,” she said.
She then headed to the hospitals where there was an urgent call for blood donations from all political parties. Nurses who had been laid off in recent weeks are turning up, volunteering to help.
“It’s a scene of people rushing to help and people rushing for help,” Ms Moussa said, adding that the hospitals were overrun and overwhelmed.
“It is really, really bad. This city is in a state of agony, a state of pain. I don’t think anyone knows what tomorrow will hold.”
As darkness fell, Ms Moussa said people were still awake, agitated and uncertain. Her phone was filled with messages from people checking on loved ones.
There is “a lot of stress and pain”, she reported.