Bassem mroue美联社
贝鲁特（AP） - 周二大规模的爆炸震撼了贝鲁特，使大部分港口变平，在首都破坏了建筑物，并将一条巨大的蘑菇云送入天空。官员说，有60多人被杀，3,000多人受伤，尸体被埋葬在废墟中。
Hours later, ambulances still carried away the wounded as army helicopters helped battle fires raging at the port.
突然的破坏使一个已经在冠状病毒大流行和经济危机中挣扎的国家淹没了：贝鲁特医院迅速填补了超越能力，恳求血液供应和发电机以保持照明。
The cause of the blast, which sparked fires, overturned cars and blew out windows and doors, was not immediately known.
Abbas Ibrahim, chief of Lebanese General Security, said it might have been caused by highly explosive material that was confiscated from a ship some time ago and stored at the port. Local television channel LBC said the material was sodium nitrate.
目击者报告说，爆炸后，现场看到一块奇怪的橙色云。有毒二氧化氮气体的橙色云经常伴随着涉及硝酸盐的爆炸。
CHEMICAL DATA NOTEBOOK SERIES #67: SODIUM NITRATE
An Israeli government official said Israel “had nothing to do” with the blast. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the media. Israeli officials usually do not comment on “foreign reports.”
The blast was stunning even for a city that has seen civil war, suicide bombings and bombardment by Israel. It could be heard and felt as far away as Cyprus, more than 200 kilometers (180 miles) across the Mediterranean.
“这是一个真正的恐怖表演。自从（内战）时代以来，我再也没有看到过这样的东西。
Health Minister Hassan Hamad said the preliminary toll was more than 60 dead and more than 3,000 wounded. Emergency teams streamed in from across Lebanon to help, and the injured had to be taken to hospitals outside the capital. Hamad added that hospitals were barely coping and offers of aid were pouring in from Arab states and friends of Lebanon.
现场美联社工作人员说，其中一些受伤的人躺在港口的地面上。一名民防官员说，港口内仍然有尸体，许多碎片下有许多尸体。
Beirut’s governor, Marwan Abboud, broke into tears as he toured the site, saying, “Beirut is a devastated city.”
最初，居民拍摄的视频显示在港口发生火灾，发出了一列巨大的烟雾，并被似乎是烟花的闪光照亮。当地电视台报道说，烟花仓库涉及。
然后，大火似乎在附近的一栋建筑物上赶上，引发了更大的爆炸，发出了蘑菇云和冲击波。
Charbel Haj, who works at the port, said it started as small explosions like firecrackers. Then, he said, he was thrown off his feet by the huge blast. His clothes were torn.
Miles from the port, building facades were shredded, balconies were knocked down and windows shattered. Streets were covered with glass and bricks and lined with wrecked cars. Motorcyclists picked their way through traffic, carrying the injured.
One woman covered in blood from the waist up walked down a trashed street while talking furiously on her phone. On another street, a woman with a bloodied face looked distraught, staggering through traffic with two friends at her side.
“This country is cursed,” a young man passing by muttered.
The blast came at a time when Lebanon’s economy is facing collapse from the financial crisis and the coronavirus restrictions. Many have lost jobs, while the worth of their savings has evaporated as the currency has plunged in value against the dollar. The result has thrown many into poverty.
这也发生在以色列与黎巴嫩南部边境的激进的真主党集团之间的紧张局势上升。
爆炸让人联想起黎巴嫩内战期间的大规模爆炸，发生在联合国支持的法庭就在15年前的一次卡车轰炸中杀害前总理拉菲克·哈里里（Rafik Hariri）就作出判决。就像星期二的爆炸一样，那爆炸带有大量爆炸物，感觉到了英里。
Several of Beirut’s hospitals were damaged in the blast. Roum Hospital put out a call for people to bring it spare generators to keep its electricity going as it evacuated patients because of heavy damage.
在贝鲁特Achrafieh附近的圣乔治大学医院外，各种受伤的人到达救护车，汽车和步行。爆炸造成了建筑物内部的重大破坏，并撞倒了医院的电力。在外面的街道，担架和轮椅上，正在当场对数十名受伤者进行了治疗。
一位医生在不愿透露姓名的情况下说：“这是我们手上有的灾难。”
___
Associated Press writer Sarah El Deeb in Beirut and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed.
内容版权所有美联社。©版权所有2021。保留所有权利。
