St George Hospital out of action

Ashrafieh’s St George Hospital was particularly badly hit, Jonathan Dagher reports.

The blast killed 17 people in the hospital, including nurses, patients and visitors. Officials say 80 percent of the building has been damaged.

The lobby’s ceiling has collapsed, the ER is out of service and volunteers are frantically clearing up glass.

“It’s a total disaster,” says George Saad, responsible for emergency preparedness and disaster management.

“We felt the earth shake, and then the blast hit. It was tragic,” says a security guard who was on duty at the ER.