• At least 50 people were killed and 2 700 injured after two explosions in Beirut, Lebanon.
• The blast happened where there are warehouses containing highly explosive material.
• The shockwaves shattered glass and collapsed apartment balconies.

Lebanon's health minister Hamad Hassan said more than 50 people had been killed and over 2 700 injured in a massive explosion in Beirut port area on Tuesday that rippled through the capital.

Speaking in remarks broadcast live on TV channels, he initially said more than 30 people had been killed and over 3 000 injured. The head of the Lebanese Red Cross put the number of wounded at over 2,200 and called for urgent blood donations, local broadcasters earlier said.

The blast sent shockwaves across the Lebanese capital, shattering glass in people's homes and causing apartment balconies to collapse, witnesses and security sources said.

"It is a disaster in every sense of the word," Hassan said in an interview with several television channels while visiting a hospital in the Lebanese capital.

The cause of the explosions was not immediately known but Ibrahim, said confiscated explosive materials had been stored at the city's port.

"It appears that there is a warehouse containing material that was confiscated years ago, and it appears that it was highly explosive material," he said.

Speaking to reporters in televised remarks, he previously declined to speculate about the cause of the explosion in Lebanon's capital, saying "we cannot preempt investigations".

It was earlier reported that the blast occurred in the city's port area, where there were warehouses housing explosives, Lebanon's state news agency NNA and two security sources said. A third security source said there were chemicals stored in the area.

Footage of the blast shared around by residents on social media showed a column of smoke rising from the port district followed by an enormous blast. Those who filmed what initially appeared to be a big blaze where thrown backwards by the shock.

At least 10 bodies were taken to hospitals, a security source and a medical source earlier told Reuters.

Meanwhile, a boat caught fire following the explosions, but it was not clear whether there were people on board, an AFP correspondent said.

Security forces ordered journalists to leave the port area for fear that fuel on board the vessel could catch fire.

Help from abroad

Lebanese President Michel Aoun called for an emergency meeting of the country's Supreme Defence Council, according to the presidency's Twitter account.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted it is ready to help Lebanon in any way necessary. 

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the great and resilient people of Lebanon. As always, Iran is fully prepared to render assistance in any way necessary. Stay strong, Lebanon," Zarif tweeted.

An Israeli official said Israel had nothing to do with the blast and its defence minister saying it has offered humanitarian assistance.

"Israel has approached Lebanon through international security and diplomatic channels and has offered the Lebanese government medical and humanitarian assistance," a written statement from Israeli Defence Minister Benny GantzGantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said they would provide support in any way it can and is ready to help.

French president Emmanuel Macron said French aid and resources were being sent to Lebanon.

Saudi foreign ministry affirmed the kingdom's full support and solidarity.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Hassan Diab urged "friendly countries" to send help.

"I am sending an urgent appeal to all countries that are friends and brothers and love Lebanon, to stand by its side and help us treat these deep wounds," he said in a televised address.

It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze that set off the blast or what kind of explosives were in the warehouses. The governor of Beirut port told Sky News that a team of firefighters at the scene had "disappeared" after the explosion.

'Catastrophe'

"I saw a fireball and smoke billowing over Beirut. People were screaming and running, bleeding. Balconies were blown off buildings. Glass in high-rise buildings shattered and fell to the street," said a Reuters witness.

The deafening second blast sent an enormous orange fireball into the sky, flattened the harbourside and sent a tornado-like shockwave ripping through the city, shattering windows kilometres away.

A soldier at the port told AFP: "It's a catastrophe inside. There are corpses on the ground."

Relatives of people who worked inside the blast zone gathered at a security cordon as they scrambled for news of their loved ones.

"Ambulances are still lifting the dead," the soldier said.

The blasts were heard as far away as Nicosia on the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, 240 kilometres (150 miles) away.

'Very high number' of injured

The health minister told Reuters there was a "very high number" of injured. Al Mayadeen TV said hundreds were wounded.

Another Reuters witness said she saw heavy grey smoke near the port area and then heard an explosion and saw flames of fire and black smoke: "All the downtown area windows are smashed and there are wounded people walking around. It is total chaos."

UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters it was not immediately clear what the cause was, and that there was no indication of any injuries to any UN personnel.

"We do not have information about what has happened precisely, what has caused this, whether it’s accidental or manmade act," he said.

The US Pentagon said: "We are aware of the explosion and are concerned for the potential loss of life due to such a massive explosion."

In Cyprus, an island lying west of Lebanon, residents reported two large bangs in quick succession. One resident of the capital Nicosia said his house shook, rattling shutters.