Beirut blast: BBC journalist films live interview as Lebanon explosion rocks building she's inside of
A slight rumbling like a low-flying plane buzzing overhead was the only warning something far worse was coming.
In a split second, a shattering boom as a camera is flung to the ground. Shards of broken glass spray across the red carpet in front of the lens.
The woman who was just in frame can't be seen, but her shrieks break through the shrill beep of an alarm.
This wasn't a Hollywood set, but rather a live television interview by a BBC correspondent which captured the exact moment a massive explosion rocked Beirut, the capital of Lebanon.
Moroccan journalist Maryam Toumi was mid-interview when a rumbling turns into a loud boom as an explosion rocks the city of Beirut. Supplied
The terrifying moment was filmed on live TV during an interview for BBC News Arabic. Supplied
BBC correspondent and Moroccan journalist Maryam Toumi was interviewing Faissal Al Assil, head of the Moroccan Agency of Sustainable Energy, when the city's port was hit with an explosion so powerful at least 100 people were killed.
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In the video of the incident, Mr Al Assil looks on in shock as his interviewer cries out.
A woman stands behind him, clutching at her chest as they wait for the camera to reveal what happened to the women they were speaking candidly with mere moments prior.
Eventually Toumi picks herself up off the floor and says, "an explosion in Lebanon".
Faissal Al Assil and another woman watch in shock as his interviewer suddenly vanishes from screen to the sound of an explosion. Supplied
Hours after the explosion, Toumi posted a video on YouTube to let people know she was alright.
"I wanted to share this video to tell people who tried to contact me, my family and friends, hamdoullah I am doing good. Never mind the bruises that I have on my front and in my shoulder,"a translation on Morocco World News quotes her as saying.
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Thousands were injured after Lebanon's capital Beirut was rocked by a blast so big it was registered as a 3.3 magnitude earthquake.
Debris lies at the scene of a massive explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. Residents of Beirut awoke to a scene of utter devastation on Wednesday, a day after a massive explosion at the port sent shock waves across the Lebanese capital, killing at least 100 people and wounding thousands. AP Photo/Hussein Malla
Rescue workers and security officers work at the scene of an explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. Prime Minister Hassan Diab, in a short televised speech, has appealed to all countries and friends of Lebanon to extend help to the small nation, saying: "We are witnessing a real catastrophe." AP Photo/Hussein Malla
There are fears many may still be trapped under the rubble.
The exact cause of the blast is not yet known, but Lebanon's Prime Minister Hassan Diab said the explosion occurred inside a warehouse that was storing 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate.
Survivors reeling from the catastrophic explosion have claimed more damage happened in the mere seconds following the blast than in 15 years of the nation's civil unrest.
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