Three-year-old girl is found dead in Beirut amid warnings 80,000 children have lost their homes as a result of the catastrophic blast
- Alexandra Najjar was named as was one of the 154 people to be killed in the blast
- Explosion left further 5,000 people wounded and more than 300,000 homeless
- UNICEF is now warning that almost 80,000 of those displaced are children
Alexandra Najjar, three, (pictured) was one of the 154 people to be killed following the explosion which tore through the Lebanese capital on Tuesday evening
A three-year-old girl has been found dead in Beirut amid reports that 80,000 children have lost their homes as a result of the catastrophic blast.
Alexandra Najjar was one of the 154 people to be killed following the explosion which tore through the Lebanese capital on Tuesday evening.
The blast, which is believed to have been sparked by a store of ammonium nitrate at the city’s port, has left a further 5,000 people wounded and more than 300,000 homeless.
UNICEF is now warning that almost 80,000 of those displaced are children with families affected in desperate need of support.
‘Over the past 24 hours, UNICEF continued to coordinate closely with authorities and partners on the ground to respond to the urgent needs of families affected, focusing on health, water and the wellbeing of children,’ said Violet Speek-Warnery, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Lebanon.
The port of Beirut is the main lifeline of the country as both an economic hub and the main entry point for many essential medicines and supplies.
But with this now destroyed families across the city have been plunged into chaos.
There were numerous reports made in the aftermath of the destruction about children who had been separated from family members – with many still missing.
The blast, which is believed to have been sparked by a store of ammonium nitrate at the city’s port, has left a further 5,000 people wounded and more than 300,000 homeless (aftermath pictured)
UNICEF is now warning that almost 80,000 of those displaced are children with families affected in desperate need of support (buildings damaged by the blast)
At least 12 primary healthcare facilities, maternal, immunization and newborn centres in Beirut have been damaged, impacting services for nearly 120,000 people.
One children’s hospital in the Karantina area, which had a specialized unit treating critical newborns, was destroyed. One baby died.
The remaining operational hospitals are over-stretched and have been depleted of the critical medical supplies that are needed both for emergency and coronavirus response.
Ten containers of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which had been stocked by the Ministry of Public Health, were also destroyed.
There were numerous reports made in the aftermath of the destruction of children who have been separated from family members – with many still missing (devastation pictured)
‘UNICEF is supporting the local authorities and partners. Our teams have been working around the clock to support people affected with much-needed assistance,’ said Speek-Warnery.
UNICEF in Lebanon is now working on the ground with counterparts and partners to scale up support to affected children and their families in order to respond to the immediate and medium-term needs.
This includes distributing drinking water to frontline responders and those living in the directly affected location around the Beirut port as well as conducting preliminary assessments on warehouses, schools, cold rooms, water infrastructure and health facilities.
Baby born as Beirut blast rips through hospital
This is the shocking moment one woman went into labour as the blast in Beirut ripped through a hospital.
The footage was captured by Edmound Khnaisser as his wife Emmanuelle prepared to give birth to their son.
But as she was wheeled into a room on the maternity ward the explosion could be heard rumbling in the background.
In a social media post, Edmound praised the efforts of the doctors and nurses adding that: ‘My son George (pictured) was born under a catastrophic blast, I did not believe we came out alive’
Just seconds later the shockwaves tore through the medical facility and left the mother-to-be covered in shards of glass.
Thankfully she was able to give birth safely despite the hospital being without electricity and both mother and son are thought to be doing well.
In a social media post, Edmound praised the efforts of the doctors and nurses adding that: ‘My son George was born under a catastrophic blast, I did not believe we came out alive.’