© AP Photo / Hussein Malla
Beirut, Lebanon
Anna Savolainen, who returned from the Finnish Embassy in July, worked in Beirut for four years as Deputy Head of Mission. The city of Beirut and the blasting areas are very familiar to him.
Savolainen commented on the devastating explosion in Beirut to MTV News, which, according to the latest information, has claimed at least 100 lives and injured more than 4,000 people.
Savolainen has received very appalling messages from his acquaintances in Beirut. Foremost, everyone has been shocked by the explosion and worried about loved ones.
– Everyone with whom I have been in contact, at least in the windows come home. Also for people who live several miles from the blast site, he says.
It is currently known to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs that one Finn was injured in Beirut. Ilta-Sanomat According to Tiina Tähtinen, the communications clerk of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she has already been discharged from the hospital and has not been seriously injured.
Tähtinen tells the newspaper that not all 12 Finns who have made a travel report to Beirut have been reached yet. Of the 40 Finns who have made a travel declaration to Lebanon, 8 have said that they are in order, 10 are no longer in the country.
Also read: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that one Finn reached from Lebanon was slightly injured. The ministry reached a total of 18 Lebanon after the Beirut explosions.
The explosion took place near the center
The explosion took place in the port of Beirut, located just east of downtown Beirut.
– It is less than two kilometers from the city center, where, among other things, the Parliament is located and next to it runs the main road north of Beirut, which is very busy. Residential areas start in the immediate vicinity of the main road, Savolainen describes.
Overall, Beirut is a very densely built and populated city, so the devastation that followed the explosion is enormous.
The explosion took place in a very popular residential area.
– There are also plenty of bars and restaurants in the area and there is business. It has happened very close to everything, Savolainen continues.
The Finnish embassy was completely destroyed by the explosion. Savolainen estimates that the embassy is located about one and a half kilometers south of the blast site.
– That too is very close, he says.
Also read: A powerful explosion in the Lebanese capital, Beirut – the video shows the power of the explosion