The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has instructed the Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt and Lebanon to stand ready to protect citizens in Beirut if necessary, ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang said on August 6.

Cars are destroyed in the blasts. (Photo: Xinhua/VNA) 

At the ministry’s regular press conference, Hang said there are very few Vietnamese in Lebanon. There is no Vietnamese representative mission in Lebanon, and the Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt is in charge of Lebanon-related issues.

The embassy is trying to contact the Vietnamese community and Vietnam’s honorary consular in Lebanon as well as local authorities to gain information on the situation of the incident.

The only information to come so far was that a Vietnamese citizen was slightly injured, who Hang said is being treated in hospital and in a stable condition.

Hang suggested individuals and organisations call a hotline for citizen protection established by the ministry’s Consular Department or the hotline of the embassy if they need support.  

She said Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong expressed his condolences to Lebanese President Michel Aoun on August 5 over the deadly blasts.

Two massive explosions rocked the Lebanese capital on August 4, leaving more than 100 people dead and thousands injured.