Lebanese expats grieve for loved ones killed in Beirut explosion

Labelled an accident by authorities, the blast is thought to have injured around 4000 people in surrounding neighbourhoods.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed on morning television on Wednesday that an Australian was among those who were killed.

"We obviously can't confirm details of that at this stage because there is contacts with families and others," Mr Morrison told Nine's Today Show.

The blast, which Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne called "a very serious accident", was believed to be caused by the ignition of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse at the port.

The owner of Canberra's Beirut Bunker Bar, Soumi Tannous, lost friends in the explosion.

Mr Tannous said post after post on his Facebook newsfeed on Wednesday had been from friends desperate to access help for their family members who had been injured.

"Beirut is a small city and I know many of the people in the images being shared by the media," he said.

"It is devastating to see my friends walking in the street covered in blood."

Mr Tannous said it was a tragic day for the whole of Lebanon, which was already suffering on multiple fronts.

The latest data from John Hopkins University's Coronavirus Resource Center reports 5062 coronavirus cases in Lebanon, including 65 deaths. The country is also suffering due to decades-long conflict in the region.

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"The country was already on its knees suffering the worst economic and humanitarian crisis of its time," Mr Tannous said.

"The Lebanese have risen and rebuilt more times than they can count, but this time is different. This time people are hungry with no food, sick with no medicine, scared with no protection and desperate with no way out."

A spokesperson for the Lebanese embassy said embassy officials would not make an official comment on the situation in Beirut, as they were still awaiting news like everybody else.

The spokesperson said as Lebanon was a small country, all 3000 expats in Canberra would be grieving for a loved one back home.

There are currently no plans for a memorial service in Canberra, but an announcement will be made when the embassy is open for residents to sign the book of condolence.

Mr Tannous said the Beirut Bunker Bar will be collecting funds on behalf of the Lebanese Red Cross this week. On Wednesday, the charity announced it had multiple temporary shelters in place for those who've lost their homes.

"We are ready to receive 1000 families for 72 hours," the Lebanese Red Cross said via Twitter. "We will be providing food, hygiene kits and all basic needs."

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said the government would provide $66 million in emergency aid.

He told local reporters a chemical used in fertilisers and explosives had been unsafely kept at the port facility for six years.