BEIRUT: More than 40 Syrians were among those killed in the massive blast that devastated the Lebanese capital this week, the Syrian embassy said on Saturday.

The embassy did not specify if the Syrian fatalities were included in the 154 death toll announced by Lebanese authorities.

“The confirmed number we have of Syrian martyrs so far is 43,” it said.

“The embassy is offering all services to facilitate the transfer some of the corpses back to Syria and is helping bury others in Lebanon,” it added.

Lebanon’s health ministry has said more than 60 people are still missing after Tuesday’s blast at Beirut port.

Some of the Syrians killed were crewmen on cargo ships docked at the port, according to correspondents at the scene.

Others died in other areas of Beirut in the explosion that injured some 5,000 people and left more than 300,000 temporarily homeless.

Lebanon hosts between one and 1.5 million Syrians who fled the nine-year civil war in the neighbouring country.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2020