Father missing in Beirut explosion found alive at sea 30 hours later

Amine Al Zahid was rescued on Thursday after being blown out to sea, but his family cannot find him in hospital

Amine Zahid, 42, was rescued from the sea on Thursday after going missing for nearly 30 hours following a huge blast in Beirut. Facebook

Father of two Amine Al Zahid was rescued at sea on Thursday after going missing for nearly 30 hours since the huge blast in Beirut.

Mr Al Zahid, 42, who was near Beirut port at the time of the explosion, is believed to have been blown out to sea by the force of the shockwave that has damaged half of the Lebanese capital and left 300,000 homeless.

The man from Beirut’s Tariq Al Jdideh area was found on Thursday morning by Lebanese army seamen, injured but alive.

But in the chaos after the blasts, his relatives have not been able to find him in hospital.

"Ten minutes prior to the explosion, he sent me a photo of the fire that preceded the explosion," Amine's brother Mohammad Al Zahid told The National.

"All of Beirut was shaken by the explosion and so were we. We were shaken twice, by the explosion and when he went missing."

Amine Zahid, 42, and his son pictured. The father of two went missing in Tuesday's blast in Beirut but has been recovered from the sea. Facebook

The message was the last Mohammad heard from his brother, who works as a manager for a company in Beirut port.

Desperate for information, he immediately posted a picture of Amine and the family's contact details on social media, alongside hundreds of other images being shared of loved ones who had not been seen since the blast.

On Thursday, the good news they longed for arrived.

The family was told that Amine had been picked up by the sailors at 4am and handed over to the Lebanese Civil Defence.

Waiting at the entrance to the port for information, Mohammad checked with the Lebanese Red Cross and civil defence, who confirmed that his brother was alive.

But so far he has been unable to find out in which hospital he is being treated.

The National contacted Rafik Hariri University, the American University of Beirut Medical Centre and a few other hospitals, but none has any record of Amine Al Zahid.

“We just want to see him," Mohammad said. "We were told by the army that they saved him and he is alive. We do not know where he is."

He said the field hospital at Beirut airport told him that Amine was not being treated there either.

A photo of a man dressed in army-style clothes with an injured man, believed to be Amine, has surfaced on social media.

But Mohammad and his family are still waiting to be reunited with him.

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  A woman stands inside a damaged restaurant. AP Photo

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  People and employees attend a mass over the victims who were killed in the blast, at the Al-Roum hospital at Ashrafieh area in Beirut. EPA

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  Workers are pictured at the devastated site of the explosion at the port of Beirut. EPA

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  A man sleeps near a damaged car near the site of Tuesday's blast in Beirut's port area. REUTERS

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  Workers line at the devastated site of the explosion at the port of Beirut. EPA

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  French President Emmanuel Macron visits the devastated site of the explosion at the port of Beirut. EPA

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  People and employees attend a mass over the victims who were killed in the blast, at the Al-Roum hospital at Ashrafieh area in Beirut. EPA

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  A view of the port of Beirut on January 25, 2020, left, and on August 5, 2020, a day after the explosion. AFP

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  Bride Israa Seblani poses for a picture in the same place where she was taking her wedding photos at the moment of the explosion. Reuters

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  People stand with their belongings as they leave their damaged homes. Reuters

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  A Lebanese man shows injuries on his back after the massive explosion in Beirut. EPA

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  Men are seen sitting inside a damaged home, following Tuesday's blast in Beirut's port area. Reuters

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  A pedestrian takes photos of a badly damaged building in Beirut. Bloomberg

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  Lebanese Druze clerics check damaged cars. AP Photo

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  A statue representing the Lebanese expatriate is seen in front of a building that was damaged by the explosion. AP Photo

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  People walk with their belongings in the area of Mar Mikhael and Gemayzeh. EPA

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  The curtains in the rooms of the Le Gray hotel in the Lebanese capital Beirut swaying in the wind. AFP

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  A view of a damaged Fransa Bank. EPA

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  People check damaged vehicles. EPA

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  Volunteers clean the streets amid the wreckage. Reuters

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  People carry belongings after evacuating their damaged housing units at area of Mar Mikhael and Gemayzeh. EPA

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  A destroyed Bank Audi SAL branch stands in Beirut. Bloomberg

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  A worker wearing a protective face mask stands at the entrance to a destroyed Fransabank SAL branch in Beirut. Bloomberg

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  Volunteers carry brooms as they walk to clean the streets. Reuters

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  A woman sits in front of a damaged building. EPA

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  A general view of the Beirut port area after the massive explosion. EPA

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  An aerial view shows the massive damage done to the Electricity of Lebanon building. AFP

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  A view of the damaged building of the Lebanese fashion designer Zuhair Murad. EPA

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  Volunteers gather aid supplies to be distributed for those affected by Tuesday's blast. Reuters

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  Lebanese men clears rubble, one day after the explosion at the Beirut Port, in the Gemayzeh area. EPA

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  Lebanese youth salvage a velvet sofa from a destroyed apartment in the Gemayzeh area of Beirut. EPA

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  Lebanese activists take part in a campaign to clean the damaged neighbourhood of Mar Mikhael. AFP

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  An injured Lebanese shop owner sits at her desk selling her wares. EPA