Six dead after Beirut blast

A suspected car bomb blast rocked Beirut’s waterfront today, setting several cars on fire and killing at least six people.

TV showed a man on fire falling out of a burning car’s window.

Witnesses and a politician said the blast apparently targeted former Prime Minster Rafik Hariri’s motorcade.

Video footage from the scene showed huge flames leaping from several cars, including one in which a man was sitting in the passenger seat covered in fire.

The man later fell through the window of the car and was helped by a bystander.

The explosion near luxury hotels, shortly before noon (10am Irish time), shook buildings in the Lebanese capital and was heard in outlying hills overlooking the city.

TV footage also showed the devastated front of a building and several vehicles burning.

Ambulances raced to the scene, sirens wailing.

Explosions in Beirut – while common during the 1975-90 civil war – have become rare since the conflict ended.

However, in October amid rising tension between the opposition and the government, a car bomb seriously injured an opposition politician and killed his driver in Beirut.