UN rescue team assists Beirut recovery operations

United Nations rescue workers fanned out across the devastated port area of Beirut on Friday in the faint hope of finding survivors from this week's explosion.

Arjan Stan, a Dutch member of the UN's Urban Search and Rescue force, said no survivors had yet been found, but good progress was being made in recovery efforts.

Working at the heart of the blast site, the team saw the extrordinary scale of the devastation caused by the disaster.

More than 150 people were killed in the blast, apparently caused by a stockpile of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a port warehouse.