A look of fear washes over a Beirut bride's face seconds before the city's terrifying explosion. Photo / Facebook/Ibrahim Kitmitto
A look of fear washes over a Beirut bride's face seconds before the city's terrifying explosion. Photo / Facebook/Ibrahim Kitmitto
A Beirut couple were in the middle of filming their wedding video when they were suddenly knocked over from the city's terrifying explosion on Tuesday.
The footage, which was captured by a Beirut photographer, shows the newlyweds happily posing before the camera in the city's Saifi neighbourhood.
A look of horror then washes over the bride's face after noticing a strange gust.
Seconds later the powerful force rips through the Brassica restaurant next to them, causing the windows to shatter and the couple to be flung around by the detonation.
Ibrahim Kitmitto, who posted the heart-stopping video to his Facebook page, said the thankfully the group was "fine".
The video then shows the dazed and confused photographer stumbling around as he tries to reach a safe location. Panicked shouting and the sound of glass falling to the ground can also be heard.
The footage comes after the explosion sparked utter chaos in the middle of another bride's photo shoot.
A Beirut bride and groom were in the middle of posing before the camera before being rocked by the city's terrifying explosion. Photo / Facebook/IbrahimKitmitto
A look of fear washes over a Beirut bride's face seconds before the city's terrifying explosion. Photo / Facebook/Ibrahim Kitmitto
Israa Seblani, 29, was seen smiling in her wedding dress in a ritzy CBD square in Beirut as wedding photographer, Mahmoud Nakib slowly panned around her face.
The moment he brought the camera down to show off the train of her gown, flowers could be seen being ripped from the ground.
Her dress billows out before the impact of the explosion sweeps through the square.
"Allahu Akbar," Mr Nakib can be heard saying in prayer - meaning "God is the greatest" - as the footage shows residents running for their lives.
She notices a strange gust as she grips onto her husband. Photo / Facebook/IbrahimKitmitto
Smoke can be seen filling the square and glass can be heard raining down.
"Look at me, I'm shaking," he says in Arabic. "There was a really, really big explosion. All the storefronts have been smashed. Some people have been injured, but thank God we are fine. Everything is broken."
Returning to the scene a day after the explosion, Seblani told Reuters: "I have been preparing for my big day for two weeks and I was so happy like all other girls. 'I am getting married.' My parents are going to be happy seeing me in a white dress; I will be looking like a princess.
"What happened during the explosion here – there is no word to explain ... I was shocked, I was wondering what happened, am I going to die? How am I going to die?"
The blast centred on the city's port caused massive destruction; 154 people have been confirmed dead and about 5000 injured.
Seconds later her dress billows out before the impact of the explosion sweeps through neighbourhood. Photo / Facebook/IbrahimKitmitto
Lebanon's president rejected any international probe into the catastrophic blast, saying a missile or negligence could have been responsible as rescuers continue to comb the rubble for survivors.
The revelation a huge shipment of hazardous ammonium nitrate had languished for years in a warehouse in the heart of the capital served as shocking proof to many Lebanese of the rot at the core of their political system, AFP reported.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun admitted on Friday the "paralysed" system needed to be "reconsidered".
He pledged "swift justice" but rejected widespread calls for an international probe, telling a reporter he saw it as an attempt to "dilute the truth".
"There are two possible scenarios for what happened: it was either negligence or foreign interference through a missile or bomb," he said, the first time a top Lebanese official raised the possibility the port had been attacked.
What ignited the massive shipment of the chemical remains unclear. Officials have said work had recently begun on repairs to the warehouse, while others suspected fireworks stored either in the same place or nearby.
