A massive explosion in the Lebanese capital of Beirut has killed at least 50 people, left thousands more injured and wreaked devastation on the city.   

The country's health minister said more than 3,000 have been wounded following the blast at the city's industrial port, where hazardous chemicals are stored in warehouses.

Dramatic footage from around 6pm local time shows smoke billowing from the harbour area shortly before an enormous fireball explodes into the sky and blankets the city in a thick mushroom cloud. 

 
Witnesses have stressed the sheer enormity of the blast, which was heard 125 miles away in Cyprus, and likened it to a 'nuclear bomb'.

It obliterated the immediate surrounding buildings, where firefighters were still battling flames this evening, and even inflicted damage on districts miles away from the blast site.