Beirut grandmother plays ‘Auld Lang Syne’ on piano amid wreckage of home destroyed by port explosion

A grandmother has been filmed playing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ on a piano surrounded by the wreckage of her home following Beirut’s port explosion.

In a room covered in smashed glass and broken window frames, May Melki played the song a day after the blast that devastated the Lebanese capital on Tuesday night.

The 78-year-old’s home is 5km from the detonation site. No people were in the house at the time of the explosion.

At least 145 people have been killed, and injured more than 5,000. Dozens remain missing.

Lebanese authorities believe that 2,700 tonnes of poorly stored ammonium nitrate, used as a fertiliser or explosive, caught fire and detonated.

The blast wave destroyed buildings for 25 kilometres, leaving over a quarter of a million citizens homeless. The wave could be felt as far away as Cyprus, some 100 miles away.

A local investigation is underway to determine the causes. Lebanese President Michel Aoun rejected calls for an international probe on Friday and appeared to deflect blame, saying “there is a possibility of external interference through a rocket or bomb or other act”.