Beirut explosion: UAE-based drummer wounded but safe after blast

Acclaimed death metal group Nervecell took to Facebook to share news about Bachir Ramadan 'We ask that you all send your blessings to him'

Nervecell guitarist Barney Ribeiro and drummer Bachir Ramadan. Courtesy Nervecell

UAE death metal group Nervecell have taken to Facebook to confirm that their Lebanese drummer Bachir Ramadan was one of the thousands who was badly affected by the Beirut explosion but that he had survived the catastrophe.

Sharing a photo of Ramadan with cuts on his head and face and his hand wrapped in gauze, they wrote in a Facebook post: “Out of respect to Bachir and his family, we did not want to post about this initially when this all broke out... Now that the news is out, and more importantly he is alive and survived this disaster, we ask that you all send your blessings and well wishes to him. Stay safe everyone, and may the people of Lebanon get the justice they have long deserved!”

Nervecell is one the UAE's most acclaimed metal groups. They started out more than 20 years ago when they formed in Dubai in 1999 and went on to become one of the first bands from the region to release a death-metal album with 2008's Preaching Venom. They have also toured the world and have released two more full-length albums, 2011's Psychogenocide and 2017's Past, Present… Torture.

At least 154 people were killed and thousands more injured in the explosions on August 4, which also caused an estimated $15 billion (Dh55.1bn) in damages.