Beirut blast: People look for missing relatives; world offers aid to Lebanon

Beirut blast: People look for missing relatives; world offers aid to Lebanon

Lebanon's Beirut reels from a huge blast that killed at least 100.

The powerful explosion also wounded more than 4,000 people.

The blast was the most powerful ever to rip through Beirut.

Intensity of the blast threw victims into the sea where rescue teams tried to recover bodies.

Many of those killed were port and custom employees and people working in the area.

Victims also included people who were driving through during the Tuesday evening rush hour.

People gathered at the cordon to Beirut port seeking information on missing relatives.

Officials said that the death toll was expected to rise.

The blast took place at a port's warehouses that stored highly explosive material.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said that 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, used in fertilisers and bombs, had been stored for six years without safety measures.

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab pledged to take action against those responsible.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he would fly to the shattered Lebanese capital.

Other countries have also been sending emergency aid, search and rescue teams. Initial probe has indicated years of inaction and negligence over storage of explosive material.

However, it's still unclear what caused the blast, which appeared to have been triggered by a fire.