Photographer captures Beirut explosion in a wedding video

This Tuesday, a massive explosion hit Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon. It stopped everyone in their tracks, including a couple who posed for a wedding shoot. While he was filming the bride more almost a mile away from the explosion, photographer Mahmoud Nakib captured the blast’s shockwave on camera.

Before you play the video, I must warn you: some of you may find it distressing. I know I did.

According to the Guardian, Israa Seblani and her husband Ahmad Subeih were outside Le Gray Hotel, where they had planned to spend their first night as newlyweds. Mahmoud was filming Israa and her wedding dress when the blast hit. It all happens fast, and it’s pretty disturbing, but no one in this video was hurt.

After the blast, the bride told the reporters: “It was not describable the devastation and the sound of the explosion. We are still in shock.” For reference, the hotel where the video was filmed is located 0.75 miles (1.25km) away from the explosion.

According to multiple sources, thousands of tons of the chemical ammonium nitrate are to blame for the explosion. They had been lying unsecured in a warehouse since 2014, and a welding accident reportedly ignited nearby fireworks, which then caused the ammonium nitrate to explode.

[via PetaPixel]