Beirut blast: Lebanon govt resigns as public anger mounts

Lebanon’s government has resigned amid mounting anger over the explosion on Tuesday that devastated parts of Beirut and left more than 200 people dead.

The announcement was made in a national TV address by Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Monday evening, BBC reported.

“Today we follow the will of the people in their demand to hold accountable those responsible for the disaster that has been in hiding for seven years, and their desire for real change,” Diab said.

Six days after the enormous chemical blast which wreaked destruction across swathes of the capital and was felt as far away as the island of Cyprus, residents and volunteers were still clearing the debris off the streets.

On Monday the death toll from the explosion rose to 220 with 110 people still missing, Beirut city governor Marwan Abboud was quoted by the al-Marsad Online news website as saying.

International rescue teams with sniffer dogs and specialised equipment remained at work at the disaster’s charred “ground zero”, where the search was now for bodies and not survivors.