Beirut blast (video) - 78 people killed and more than 4,000 injured

Lebanon is in mourning after a huge explosion in the capital Beirut killed at least 78 people and injured more than 4,000 others on Tuesday.

The whole city was shaken by the blast, which began with a fire at the port which exploded into a mushroom cloud.

The cause is unclear but the government said “highly explosive materials” had been stored at the blast scene in the Lebanese capital.

The secretary-general of the Kataeb political party, Nizar Najarian, was killed in the blast, and among those injured was Kamal Hayek, the chairman of the state-owned electricity company, who was in critical condition, the news agency reported.