A CO Antrim woman living in Beirut where more than 200 were killed and thousands left injured and homeless following a massive explosion last week has launched a fundraiser to help a search and rescue team in the city.
AnnaSophia Gallagher, who is originally from Glenavy, has been living and working in the Middle East for almost seven years, with the last two spent in Beirut.
On August 4, the 31-year-old, who works for Siren Associates - a Northern Irish-Lebanese company working in public sector reform in the Middle East - was just a mile from where the blast occurred.
The explosion, which was caused by the detonation of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely, claimed the lives of more than 200 people, injured more than 7,000 and has left an estimated 300,000 homeless.
Ms Gallagher was sitting outside a restaurant with a friend when the explosion happened.
"Suddenly, the earth shook as if there was an earthquake, and I looked up and could see, almost in slow motion, a blast of hot air coming up the street at us," she said.
"The buildings, again in slow motion, appeared to `inhale' and then all of a sudden spit out all of the glass and contents of the inside onto the street.
"There was dust in the air. Cars jammed on their breaks and were honking, people were screaming. When the shock wave hit us, and everything fell, I jumped on the ground and covered my head and my friend.
"I shook violently for about a minute, but I was not crying and I did not feel scared. Our office is very close to the blast. I was worried there would be a second explosion. A friend called me in a panic, she said she had fallen over a dead body, and there were injured people running all over the street and she had lost her dog."
The Glenavy woman, who works as a Research and Evaluation Lead, said in the aftermath of the explosion the "roads were covered in glass" and traffic was heavy as "everyone rushed out of the city".
She said she returned home and shut all windows amid fears there was "nitric acid in the air".
"There was no electricity so we could not sleep, and it was very hot and humid. We just lay in silence until the morning, waiting for the sun to come up," she said.
Ms Gallagher has now set up a GoFundMe page in aid of the Palestinian Civil Defense, a volunteer team of search and rescue workers, who have been working in the city since the explosion.
"I have personally worked with the Palestinian Civil Defense, and now am trying to do anything I can to support them in the times ahead," she said.
"We are raising funds for them to be able to purchase more additional life-saving equipment."
Donations can be made at www.gf.me/u/ypqjdn however the link will not be live until later this week.
