Beirut explosion: 'You want to save lives, but you are as helpless as they are'

Dr Marie Eid has told the BBC the hospital where she works in Beirut has been badly damaged, and that "it was a truly very, very traumatic experience."

Hospital staff were forced to transform the car park into an emergency ward, as more and more injured people arrived for urgent treatment.

Lebanon's President Michel Aoun said the blast was caused by 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely in a warehouse.

Read more: Port officials under house arrest as rescue efforts continue