TIRANA, Aug 8 /ATA/-By Arian Jorgaqi/ –It took only a few moments for the Lebanon’s capital of Beirut, once the famed Paris of the Middle East, to be reduced to a ghost city.
“It is with a heavy heart that I write to you about my horrific experience at the moment of the massive blast that rocked the once vibrant Lebanese capital of Beirut. The blast, which devastatingly ripped through the entire city, has left every single individual in the country traumatized,” Rana El-Hage, Head of English News Desk at the Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA), told an exclusive interview with the Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA), as she described the horrific experience she and her family went through at the moment of the massive explosion.
The explosion of some 2,750 tonnes of confiscated ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse at Beirut port resulted in at least 154 deaths, 5,000 injuries, billions of dollars in property damage and an estimated 300,000 people made homeless.
“After a long and tiring day at the English News Desk of Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, I went back home promising myself a cool evening, away from all the frustrating news about Lebanon’s ailing economy and spiking COVID-19 cases,” Rana went on saying.
The extremely powerful blast took place at a time when Lebanon was already facing many tough challenges since last year, when mass anti-government protests plunged the country into an economic crisis, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I reached home at 5:00 pm. I greeted my 13-year-old twin boys, showered, and then had my late lunch. At approximately 6:00 pm, I decided to give my cousin a birthday call. As I was talking to her, my building started shaking and swaying left and right. My cousin and I started screaming “earthquake” over the phone. I instantly called my boys to seek shelter with them in a safe spot,” she said.
“Once I exited my living room, a massive force with dusty wind threw me to my bedroom, and then I heard a colossal explosion. My kids rushed to me, and my cousin was still over the phone,” Rana added.
“It’s a nuclear bomb! Close all the windows!!” I told her as I got up and started running to seek shelter with my boys. My heart was beating so fast. The terror was immense. I asked God for forgiveness, as I was sure that death was inevitable. I hugged my boys and waited in fear, but the dust settled, and I figured out that the danger was over,” Rana went on telling.
The unprecedented blast came just three days before the long-awaited verdict by the special UN-backed court on a suicide bomb attack in Beirut 15 years ago, when Rafik Hariri, Lebanon’s former prime minister, was assassinated along with 21 others.
““Mom, look at this huge orange cloud in the sky!” my son told me. We were watching the cloud caused by the explosion in complete shock when incoming news about the explosion started filling TV screens and social media sites.
“I’ve witnessed Lebanon’s many civil wars and Israel’s multiple aggressions against the country, but I’ve never ever experienced anything as such,” Rana El-Hage, Head of English News Desk at the Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA), concluded her interview with ATA.
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