Beirut bride filmed during blast says one thing entered her mind: 'Now you are going to die'

In the aftermath of Tuesday's massive explosion in Beirut, which left at least 145 people dead, dozens missing, and an estimated 300,000 homeless, video showing a woman posing in her wedding gown and then falling to the ground because of the blast went viral.

Her name is Dr. Israa Seblani, and she was taking photos in the Saifi neighborhood, less than a mile from the explosion site. Seblani was joined by the groom, Ahmad Sbeih, who was thrown into the air and landed about six feet away. "One thing came into my mind: Now you are going to die." Seblani told The New York Times on Thursday.

Seblani said there was shattered glass everywhere, as people stumbled around, covered in blood. "It just took a second from hearing the explosion to being hit by it," Seblani said. "The beautiful place that I was in, it turned into a ghost town."

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Seblani and Sbeih made their way home, and had to quickly decide whether to go through with their wedding ceremony. They chose to do so, in front of relatives who gathered at their house. "There are families who lost their children, children who lost their parents, so how can we be happy?" Seblani said. "All we can say is thank God for everything."

She is finishing her residency at a Detroit hospital, and has been waiting for years to get Seblani a visa so he can join her in the United States. Lebanon is going through an economic crisis on top of the coronavirus pandemic, and Seblani told the Times she wants to go back to the U.S., but worries about leaving Sbeih in Beirut. "Life in Lebanon is getting complicated, more and more," she said. "But we need to be together. We've been apart for three years, and that's enough." Catherine Garcia