An animal charity in Beirut is helping to reunite people with their pets after they became separated during the explosion which killed at least 137 this week.
Heartwarming video captures the moment owners were reunited with their animals, after charity workers discovered wandering the streets of the shattered city.
Jason Mier, executive director at charity Animals Lebanon, said 40 people have been searching the city since around 8pm Wednesday, and have so-far reunited around 20 cats and dogs with their owners.
Beirut was heavily damaged on Tuesday evening when 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been stored at the city's port for six years in an unsecured warehouse caught fire and exploded.
The blast, which had the power of a small nuke, destroyed the port, damaged 50 per cent of the city's buildings, and left 5,000 wounded and 300,000 homeless.
Among the buildings that were damaged buildings was the headquarters of Animals Lebanon, but the charity's work continued nonetheless.
'The goal really now is to reunite people with their lost pets, and that's been working well, we've found owners of at least 20 dogs and cats so far,' Mr Mier told the PA news agency.
'We've been contacted a couple of hundred times so far since last night, we are the main animal welfare organisation in the country.
'So far we have had more than 40 people out, working in teams of two or three, and that has been ongoing since 8pm [on Tuesday].
'The goal is to keep going, I know we're doing good stuff, I know we're making people happy, but it's overwhelming for everybody.
'Animals Lebanon has been around for 12 years... but this is the most difficult situation we've ever faced,' Mr Mier told PA.
'We've joined international conventions, we've drafted and passed national animal welfare law, we work throughout the country helping all types of animals.
'With the compounding of all these things, the economic crisis, the government collapse... coronavirus, rising unemployment, and now this blast. This is the most difficult situation we've ever been in.
'We're just trying to get through the day. There's a lot of people ready to help.'
This article has been adapted from its original source.
