#Beirut firefighters pictured trying to enter warehouse just before explosion

“#Beirut firefighters pictured trying to enter warehouse just before explosion”

August 6, 2020 | 11:24am | Updated August 6, 2020 | 11:44am

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Firefighters in Beirut, Lebanon, attempt to enter the warehouse moments before the massive explosion on Tuesday.

A heartbreaking photo captures the moment hero firefighters try to break into a Beirut warehouse — just moments before it exploded like an atom bomb.

The image shows the smoke eaters in the Lebanese capital’s port trying to pry open the door to warehouse 12 that was packed full of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate.

DailyMail.com says it verified the image was taken just before Tuesday’s terrifying blast that killed 137 — including at least one America — and left up to 300,000 homeless as it razed huge parts of the city.

The photographer is among the confirmed dead, the report said, with the photo later found on his recovered phone.

The firefighters are believed to be among the 10 previously reported missing, with one — 25-year-old female firefighter Sahar Faris — now confirmed dead.

The pictured firefighters appear to be Jo Noon, Methal Hawwa and Najib Hati, who are among the missing, the outlet said — with Hati in such a rush he did not even have time to put on a uniform.

Other footage appears to show the blaze at the warehouse before the explosion that has been compared to the World War II nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

A photo apparently showing chemicals stored inside the Beirut warehouse that exploded on Tuesday.@Dalatrm

A fire service official told the outlet that it sent a unit of 10 to tackle the initial report of a fire.

“The three men in the famous photograph were first on the scene trying to unlock the door to Warehouse 12,” the source said.

“Following them were the colleagues in the other vehicles. The blast hit all of them.

“Nine are still missing and one, Sahar Faris, has been found and declared dead. Her family mourned here yesterday. Her fiancé is devastated.”

Another image shared by BBC reporter Riam Dalati appeared to show warehouse workers earlier stacking some of the stockpile of ammonium nitrate that blew with the force of 1,100 tons of TNT, and was felt as far away as Cyprus — nearly 180 miles away.