© Handout
Screenshot of Cecilia Pellosniemi’s Facebook page. He was injured in the Beirut explosion in Lebanon yesterday. LEAF PICTURE / HANDOUT / CECILIA PELLOSNIEMI
A Finnish UN employee says he was injured in an explosion in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on Tuesday. Cecilia Pellosniemi says on Facebook that she was injured in the head in an explosion. She is recovering at the hospital after surgery on Tuesday night.
– A piece is missing from my forehead, he writes on Facebook.
Pellosniemi says he managed to get out of the building that collapsed in the explosion and walk to another part of the city looking for help. He also gave himself first aid.
“Really hard to think of yourself”
Pellosniemi says he was only a few hundred meters away from the explosion.
– I had just gone to the shower, it was maybe half past six. I heard one explosion. With the crisis management training, I knew I had to react immediately and I tried to leave the building because that is the first rule, Pellosniemi told Yle by phone about the hospital.
Applying for treatment was challenging, as several hospitals were unable to admit more patients. However, Pellosniemi finally found a hospital where stitches were put on him.
Mr Pellosniemi is concerned about the situation in Lebanon.
– Really hard to think of himself, as I have, however, survived this crisis, and I work on. It is difficult to think about the consequences for my own life when I can leave Finland whenever I want and continue living, he told Yle.
Pellosniemi, who moved to Beirut in January, is working for the UN Organization for Gender Equality (UN Women) on the Syrian political process.
Most Finns reached
The majority of Finns who have made a travel report to Lebanon have been reached since the explosion. A total of 40 reports have been made, 12 of which identify the person as being in Beirut.
Tiina Tähtinen from the Foreign Ministry’s communications says that only one injured Finn is known, but she does not confirm the name.
According to the Foreign Ministry, there are also about 200 Finnish peacekeepers from the UN operation Unifil in Lebanon. According to Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (Green), there are no injured among them.