Three hospitals not functional, others overwhelmed after Beirut blast: WHO

Geneva, Switzerland: Three hospitals in Beirut are not functional, two are only partially working and other medical facilities are overwhelmed after a massive warehouse explosion sent a devastating blast wave across the cities, killing at least 100 people and injuring nearly 4,000, WHO said on Wednesday.

A powerful blast in port warehouses near central Beirut storing highly explosive material sent seismic shockwaves that shattered windows, smashed masonry and shook the ground across the Lebanese capital. "As a result of yesterday's deadly blast, three hospitals in Beirut are not functional at the moment two others are only partially working, while other medical facilities are overwhelmed with number of injured people", said World Health Organization (WHO) spokesman, Tarik Jasarevic.

The health agency is airlifting supplies from Dubai which should arrive in Beirut tonight, he said. The blast was the most powerful ever to rip through Beirut, a city still scarred by civil war three decades ago and reeling from an economic meltdown and a surge in coronavirus infections. It sent a mushroom cloud into the sky and rattled windows on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, about 100 miles (160 km) away.