Explosive Horror: When Reality Turned into a Grisly Action Movie – The Shocking Pager Explosions That Left the World Reeling
Deadly Pager Explosions Rock Lebanon, Killing 9 and Injuring 2,750
At least 9 people have been killed and 2,750 injured in a series of simultaneous pager explosions across Lebanon, leaving hospitals overwhelmed and the nation in shock.
Hezbollah has vowed immediate retaliation, blaming Israel for the attack, raising concerns that the embers of an all-out war between the two sides have been rekindled.
According to foreign media outlets such as the New York Times (NYT) and the BBC, hundreds of radio pagers mainly used by Hezbollah members exploded simultaneously throughout Lebanon starting at 3:30 PM that day.
The blast killed at least nine people and injured 2,750, Lebanon’s health ministry said. About 200 of the injured were said to be in critical condition.
In Korea, pagers, which were called ‘beepers’ in the 1990s, are communication devices that receive simple text messages and phone numbers. Hezbollah has reportedly introduced pagers in recent months, citing the risk of cellphones being tracked.
The explosions that day were centered around Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, and the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut.
According to videos posted on social media and eyewitness accounts, the victims were left helpless when their pagers, which they had placed in their bags or pockets, suddenly exploded after emitting several warning sounds.
Just before the explosion, a notification appeared on the pagers, apparently from Hezbollah leadership. The notification was not from the leadership but was actually the signal to activate the explosion, and hundreds of pagers exploded shortly thereafter.
CCTV footage taken at a store in Lebanon that day shows a man buying fruit and other items before he falls to the floor as the pager in his shoulder bag goes off.
A woman who was picking fruit with her children right in front was startled by the sudden explosion and covered her children, and store employees also ran away in a hurry, and the scene quickly became chaotic.
Muhammad Awada (52), who was driving near the scene of the explosion, told the New York Times that his son, who was riding in the car with him, “lost his mind and started screaming when he saw the man’s severed hand flying away.”
Ahmad Ayoud, who runs a butcher shop in the Basta area near Beirut, said he heard the explosion and then saw a man in his 20s fall from his motorcycle, bleeding, on the road outside his shop.
Most of the victims were injured in their hands, faces, and abdomens, and some reportedly lost all ten fingers or suffered serious injuries to both eyes. Residents were shocked and terrified as they saw so many people fall to the ground in front of their eyes.
The hospital is almost paralyzed by the influx of patients. With doctors in short supply, even nearby veterinarians, pharmacists, and dentists have been mobilized to provide treatment.
The BBC reported that the entire Lebanese nation was in disbelief at what had happened that day, and that even in Lebanon, which is accustomed to unexpected events due to frequent conflict, the scale and nature of what happened that day was unprecedented.