Beirut explosion - mushroom shaped blast rips through Lebanese capital

A massive explosion has killed at least ten people and left hundreds injured after the blast devastated part of Lebanon's capital Beirut.

Pictures show buildings destroyed, people walking wounded, and a sea of wreckage after the blast that could be heard some 125 miles away in Cyprus.

Lebanon's state news agency NNA and two security sources said the blast had occurred in the port area where there are warehouses housing explosives, reports Reuters.

Nearby buildings around the port have been leveled, windows and doors have been blown out, and fires burn as smoke plumes billow across Beirut.

The Government Palace - the home of Lebanon's PM Hassan Diab - was damaged in the blast, and his wife and daughter were injured in the explosion.