On Tuesday, tragedy struck in the Lebanese capital of Beirut when an explosion rocked the city in the early evening.

As things stand, at least 137 people are confirmed dead, with at least 5 000 more injured, after a building near the city’s port, believed to be holding around 2 750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, exploded.

For footage from multiple areas of the city, as well as a slowed-down look at how the power of the blast created a mushroom cloud, head here.

All of those paint a picture of the fear that residents must have felt in the moment, and that’s also clear from this footage of a bride’s wedding shoot.

29-year-old Dr. Israa Seblani was posing for a video, with husband-to-be Ahmad Sbeih nearby, when the force from the explosion tore through the street:

Speaking to CNN, the couple, along with Mahmoud Nakib, the wedding photographer, recounted what that was like:

“In just one second, the sky turned black and we heard the second explosion,” Nakib said…

“The area I was in — within matter of seconds — it went from beautiful place to ghost town filled with dust, shattered glass and people yelling [and] bleeding,” Seblani told CNN. “It was like a nightmare scene.”

The shockwave pushed Nakib down the street, he said, nearly knocking him over. But his camera kept rolling, shakily documenting the chaotic scene for a few seconds longer.

Thankfully, nobody involved with the shoot was hurt, but Seblani says her first thought was wondering if this was how she was going to die.

If you want to understand the sheer force of the blast, these satellite images are a good place to start:

There’s also this drone footage:

Given that evidence suggests officials knew how dangerous it was to keep such a massive stash of explosive material, expect heads to roll in the coming days and weeks.

[source:cnn]