A tale of two cities: A once vibrant Beirut now left in tatters

Our Middle East correspondent Bel Trew gives her eyewitness account of how Beirut has been changed irrevocably by the devastating port explosions

Shock and bewilderment is the reaction of a Beirut resident at the scene of Tuesday’s explosion at the port in Lebanon's capital Beirut (AFP)

Framed by the snarls of exposed metal, a woman wearing a medical mask sits on a chair – her mother’s chair, to be precise – looking out to sea.

Around her, the apartment block which faces Beirut’s ravaged port looks like a broken doll’s house with its front latch off.

You can see a cross-section of bereaved people in the flats quietly collecting books and papers, mementoes and memories.