Beirut Explosion Caused by Fire Kills Dozens, Injures Thousands

BEIRUT—Dozens of people were confirmed dead and thousands more injured after a massive explosion caused by a warehouse fire rocked Lebanon’s capital city of Beirut.

The warehouse held highly explosive material, including sodium nitrate, said an official with Lebanon’s army. He said the explosion was likely caused by a fire, and wasn’t an attack. Sodium nitrate, used to make fertilizer and fireworks, can be explosive and accelerates the burning of other materials, according to the U.S. National Center for Biotechnology Information.

The blast is the latest blow for Lebanon, a country already reeling from multiple crises in recent months, ranging from large street protests over government corruption to an economy on the brink of collapse after years of mismanagement. Before the explosion, which shook the whole of Beirut, Lebanon’s economy was in free fall and ordinary Lebanese citizens were struggling with soaring prices of food and other goods, as well as long daily power cuts.