Born in the blast: The miracle of baby George

Stepping into the delivery room where his wife Emmanuelle was about to give birth, Edmond meant to capture their son's first moments on camera.

Instead, he caught this: The devastating moment a blast ripped through Beirut, sending whole window's crashing onto Emmanuelle's bed.

Brushing off blood and shattered glass - medical staff instinctively carried her into the corridor, fearing another explosion.

Using the lights on their phones they delivered the baby.

One week on and George is doing well. His mother Emmanuelle still haunted by the delivery

"I saw death with my own eyes. I started thinking 'is this the end?' I was looking around and at the ceiling, just waiting for it to fall on us. I didn't know what to do then I said that's it, George should come, he has to come to life and I have to be very strong, I shouldn't break down."

Edmond - George's father - says they're lucky to have him.

"George is very special. He is the light in the darkness or the birth in the wreckage. His birth was, despite all the horror that was present around us, George was born in good health."

The St. George Hospital where he was born was decimated by the explosion.

Needles flew across the hall, blood covered the floors and the lights went off.

Seventeen people died inside the hospital, including Edmond’s mother.

Hundreds then poured in from across the Lebanese capital after the blast, which killed more than 170 people and wounded thousands.

Across Beirut, doctors and nurses recounted a night of horror that shook up even veteran medical workers.

Beirut's hospitals have been wrestling with the country's financial meltdown since late last year and the aftermath of the blast has raised fears for a tattered healthcare system, already fighting a coronavirus outbreak.

Now with hospitals turned into trauma centers, coronavirus cases still rising, and a fresh batch of patients coming in from protests, healthcare workers are wondering how the system will cope.

Stephanie Yacoub - who helped deliver Baby George - says she is extremely proud of her team, but that the true heroes were Emmanuelle and Edmond who stayed calm and trusted the medical staff to care for Baby George - even as the world around them was falling apart.