Four expatriate Bangladeshis were killed and 21 sailors of the Bangladesh Navy injured in a huge explosion in Beirut on Tuesday, according to officials of Bangladesh Mission there and the Inter-service Public Relation (ISPR) in Dhaka.
The massive explosion in a Beirut port warehouse killed over 100 people and injured 4,000 others. Many also remained missing until Wednesday evening.
The deceased were identified as Mehdi Hasan Roni, hailed from Brahmanbaria, Mizan from Madaripur, Rezaul from Cumilla and Rasel Miah from Brahmanbaria.
Besides, 80 Bangladesh citizens were injured in the incident, officials said.
The condition of one of the injured sailors, Senior Warrant Officer Harun ur Rashid, is critical, said the Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) on Wednesday.
He is now under treatment in the American University of Beirut Medical Centre.
These sailors belong to the Bangladesh naval ship, the Bijoy, which has been engaged in the UN peacekeeping mission in Beirut, named UNIFIL since 2018.
According to the ISPR, Dhaka has been maintaining close contact with the UNIFIL headquarters and with the Bangladesh Mission, to assess the real damage caused to the ship Bijoy and injuries sustained by the crew of the ship.
Bangladesh Ambassador in Beirut Major General Md. Jahangir Al Mustahidur Rahman visited the Navy ship immediately after the incident. He took all necessary measures to send the injured personnel to the hospital for treatment, the ISPR said.
The Bijoy has been actively engaged in counter terrorism, rescue and surveillance operations, and providing training to the Lebanese Navy as part of the UNIFIL activities.
The explosion on Tuesday sent shockwaves across Beirut, causing widespread damage as far as the outskirts of the capital.
Officials expressed the fear that the death toll may rise further as emergency workers were digging through the rubble in search of the survivors.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear. Officials linked the blast to some 2,750 tonnes of confiscated ammonium nitrate that were being stored in a warehouse at the port for the last six years.
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