Several thousand people staged protests in Beirut on Wednesday, chanting slogans against the country's political class widely blamed for the port disaster and years of corruption and mismanagement that plunged Lebanon into bankruptcy. Lebanese came out into the streets of Beirut to demand accountability to mark one year since the horrific explosion at the port of Beirut. Riot police shot tear gas and water cannons to disperse protestors near the country's parliament. The grim anniversary comes amid an unprecedented economic and financial meltdown, and a political stalemate that has kept the country without a functioning government for a full year. Prayers and protests were planned for later in the day, which has been declared a national day of mourning. The explosion killed at least 214 people, according to official records, injured and maimed thousands and devastated entire neighbourhoods of the city. It was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history - the result of hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate igniting after a fire broke out. The explosion tore through the city with such force, it caused a tremor across the entire country that was heard and felt as far away as the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, more than 200 kilometres (180 miles) away. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Subscribe to our newest channel Quicktake Explained: https://bit.ly/3iERrup Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQuickTakeNews Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake