No reports of Sri Lankan casualties in Beirut explosion: Foreign Ministry

COLOMBO (News 1st): Sri Lanka Embassy in Beirut suffered minor damages following an explosion in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday, Sri Lanka's Ministry of Foreign Relations confirmed on Wednesday (Aug 5).  According to the Foreign Ministry there are no reports of Sri Lankan casualties. Lebanese President - Michel Aoun called for an emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday and said a two-week state of emergency should be declared following a massive explosion in Beirut that killed at least 100 people and injured 4,000 others, foreign media reported. The death toll is expected to rise further as emergency workers dig through the rubble to search for survivors, according to Lebanese officials. The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear. Officials linked the explosion to some 2,750 tonnes of confiscated ammonium nitrate that were being stored in a warehouse at the port for six years, reported foreign media. The explosion on Tuesday sent shock-waves across the city, causing widespread damage as far as the outskirts of the capital. According to Germany's Geo-sciences Centre (GFZ), the massive explosion in Beirut triggered a 3.5 magnitude earthquake. The explosion, was heard and felt as far away as Cyprus more than 200 km away across the Mediterranean, foreign media reported.