Larsa Pippen used her platform to highlight the tragic explosions that occurred in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, on August 4. The former Real Housewives of Miami star, 46, took to her personal Instagram account, sharing an image of the devastating explosion accompanied by sorrowful words from her caption. “I’m praying for Lebanon,” the mother-of-four began the caption to her post.
“My mom is from Beirut this just breaks my heart. My family is so devastated,” she said, adding two praying emojis along with a broken heart. She also added the hashtag “Lebanon” to her post. The catastrophic event clearly rocked Larsa to her core, especially considering that her family has deep ties to the middle eastern country. And the carnage from the explosion is only just surfacing.
The Lebanese capital experienced an out control fire that ignited “highly explosive materials” contained in the city’s port. From what appeared to be a giant pink cloud turned into a massive fireball, leveling buildings and shattering windows. Initial reports claimed that the event left 10 dead and “dozens” wounded. As of August 5, however, the death toll has risen to “at least 100” with “more than 4,000” injured, according to CNBC.
Stunning video shows explosions just minutes ago at Beirut port pic.twitter.com/ZjltF0VcTr
— Borzou Daragahi 🖊🗒 (@borzou) August 4, 2020
Many civilians who were impacted by the explosion were forced to walk through clouds of smoke in order to get to nearby hospitals. Buildings such as the headquarters of former Lebanon Prime Minister Saad Hariri, as well as CNN’s Beirut bureau were reportedly damaged, along with a number of store fronts. Debris lined the streets in Beirut, leaving ambulances and first response vehicles unable to reach those who had been injured.
The Lebanese government ordered an investigation within five days to find out the cause of the explosion, as well as “who was responsible,” per CNBC. “I will not rest until we find the person responsible for what happened, to hold him accountable and impose the most severe penalties,” Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab shared in the early hours of August 4. He also added that it was unacceptable for such explosive, dangerous materials to be present in the city’s port warehouse without necessary “preventive measures.”