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Beirut explosion on Tuesday, Aug 4, 2020. (Antara Lampung/screenshot

Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi offered her condolences and sympathies to the families of the victims of the explosion that rocked Beirut in Lebanon on Tuesday evening.

"My deepest condolences and sympathies go out to the families, people, and Government of Lebanon following the massive explosion in Beirut that resulted in the loss of lives and left thousands injured," Marsudi wrote on her Twitter account on Wednesday.

The minister affirmed that Indonesia was standing in solidarity with the people of Lebanon at this time of grief.

A powerful blast in port warehouses near central Beirut storing highly explosive material killed 78 people, injured nearly four thousand, and sent seismic shockwaves that shattered windows, smashed masonry, and shook the ground across the Lebanese capital, Reuters reported. The death toll was expected to increase further, as emergency workers rummage through the rubble in search of survivors.

The cause of the explosion was not immediately known, but the government linked the blast to some 2,750 tons of confiscated ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse at the port for six years.

An Indonesian national suffered minor injuries and was in a stable condition following the explosion in the Port of Beirut, according to the Indonesian Embassy in Lebanon.

The embassy's records point to the presence of 1,447 Indonesian citizens in Lebanon, including 1,234 members of the Indonesian Peacekeeping Garuda Contingent and 213 students as well as diplomats, the embassy's staff and families.

All of them were safe, the embassy noted in a statement. (ANTARA)