Dramatic Zoom Footage Shows The Moment Beirut Explosion Rocked The BBC’s Local Office

A BBC journalist’s Zoom video call captured the dramatic moment that the Lebanese capital of Beirut was rocked by a giant explosion at the city’s port on Tuesday.

BBC Arabic journalist Maryam Toumi was conducting an interview from the BBC’s office in Beirut, which is around 1.5 miles from the epicenter of the explosion, which has killed at least 70 people and injured thousands of others.

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A recording of the call, posted by the BBC News press team, shows Toumi in the top right of the screen conducting the interview, before hearing the noise of the explosion.

There is then a loud crash and screams as the aftershocks reached the bureau, and it appears that Toumi is thrown to the floor. A woman can then be heard making noises of shock and pain as her interviewee and his colleague look on concerned. Toumi restores her camera to an upright position and she is on the floor under a desk.

All BBC staff were declared safe after the incident, according to Middle East correspondent Martin Patience, but the footage shows how far-reaching the explosion was. Local authorities are blaming the blast on a store of highly explosive ammonium nitrate.

You can watch the footage below:

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