Timeline: Consequences of deadly explosions in Lebanon

Aug 12, 2020 | International News, News

Two consecutive explosions occurred near Beirut's port and Central district  registering an earthquake with a magnitude of 3.3 (Reuters/Mohamed Azakir)
Two consecutive explosions occurred near Beirut’s Port and Central districts. Earthquake seismographs register the second blast as an earthquake with a magnitude of 3.3. (Reuters/Mohamed Azakir)
Akanksha Lamba

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned a few days after of the deadly blast in Beirut. The Aug. 4 blast created a public outrage against the ruling government it claimed was mired in corruption.

The explosion occurred when 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate was ignited and destroyed everything within a three-kilometre range. It killed more than 200 people and injured thousands.

Lebanon’s Information Minister Manal Abdel, Justice Minister Marie Claude Najm, and Environment Minister Damianos Kattar have also resigned.

“I previously said that the system of corruption is deeply rooted in all the functions of the state; nevertheless, I discovered that the corrupt system is bigger than the state and that the latter is constrained by this system and cannot confront it or get rid of it,” Diab said in his televised resignation speech Monday.

“We want to open the door towards national salvation that the Lebanese people are taking part in and thus and I am announcing today the resignation of this government,” he said.

The following timeline highlights events in Beirut from the moment of the killer blast: