LEBANON, Aug. 5 (The Guardian) - Lebanon’s health minister told Reuters that the death toll from a massive explosion in the capital Beirut on Tuesday had reached 78, adding that nearly 4,000 people had been injured.

“There are many people missing until now. People are asking the emergency department about their loved ones and it is difficult to search at night because there is no electricity,” minister Hamad Hasan told Reuters. “We are facing a real catastrophe and need time to assess the extent of damages.”

The minister earlier said in televised remarks that more than 70 people had been killed.