Some 600 Spanish soldiers, none of them injured in this incident, are part of UNIFIL, a force that has been deployed since 2006 in southern Lebanon

Explosion in Beirut port injures several blue berets

photo_camera AP/BILAL HUSSEIN - This photo shows an overview of the scene of an explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, on Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Some members of the United Nations Peace Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were seriously injured by the large explosion in the port of Beirut, which affected one of their ships at the dock, the mission reported.

"As a result of the large explosion that shook the port of Beirut this afternoon, one of the UNIFIL maritime force ships docked at the port was damaged, leaving some of the blue hulls injured, some of them seriously," UNIFIL said in a statement, without giving a figure. It added that the peace mission was moving the injured blue berets to the nearest hospitals for medical treatment.

"We stand by the people and the government of Lebanon during this difficult period and stand ready to help and offer assistance," UNIFIL's commander, General Stefano del Col, said in the statement. Sources close to UNIFIL confirmed to Efe that none of the Spanish blue helmets that are part of this mission have been injured by the explosion.

Some 600 Spanish military personnel are part of UNIFIL, a force that has been deployed since 2006 to southern Lebanon under UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the war between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah. 

So far, more than 100 people have been killed and 4000 injured in an incident that has not yet been clarified. The explosion took place on Tuesday afternoon in a warehouse in the port of Beirut, where there was "highly explosive material that had been confiscated for years", according to the director of the Lebanese General Security, Ibrahim Abbas.

The deflagration was felt throughout the capital, with a mushroom cloud rising and then columns of white and red smoke.  On the other hand, the Prime Minister asked for help from the "friends and brothers" of Lebanon, which is going through the worst economic crisis since the end of the civil war (1975-1990). In addition, the executive declared a day of national mourning tomorrow for the victims who are expected to increase in the coming hours. 

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