Wedding photographers are used to mishaps on event day and we’ve covered many of them—everything from bridezilla meltdowns to tropical storms to a lioness staking claim to a tree in Kenya where a bride and groom were set to be married. Crazy things can happen anywhere, and while most photographers come prepared for anything and everything, no one could ever anticipate a blast exploding with the force of an earthquake during a joyous bridal portrait session like this one in Beirut.

On the wedding day of 29-year-old Israa Seblani (as identified by Reuters), it started out as it should, with the bride happy and hopeful for the next chapter of her life.

As reported by several news outlets, Lebanese photographer Mahmoud Nakib was photographing Seblani as she stood in Beirut’s Saifi square, dressed in a long ornate wedding gown and looking quite stunning as she smiled and posed for Nakib. Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, a powerful blast ripped through the area, almost knocking the bride off her feet.

Nakib continued to record what was happening even as the force of the explosion pushed him down the street. In the video, people can be seen running for safety—including the bride and groom—in what the photographer has been reported as calling a “nightmare scene.”

Miraculously, Nakib, the bride, groom and the rest of the wedding party escaped injury but the massive explosion, sadly, killed at least 135 people and injured 5,000 more.

The blast appeared to have been triggered by a fire that touched off a giant quantity of ammonium nitrate fertilizer stored for years in the port, which exploded with the force of what is being reported as a moderately strong earthquake.

In a phone interview with The Daily News, Nakib said that while he continued to shoot the dramatic scene unfolding as the bridal party fled, he struggled to understand what was even happening. “It was the explosion, and then you just heard people screaming, blood everywhere. People were dying in front of my eyes. It was horrible,” he recalled to the news outlet.

“We were standing in the middle of nothing, far from any glass, so we didn’t get injured physically. Though psychologically, we are still in shock.”

“I have never heard anything similar to the sound of this explosion,” the bride told reporters. After the blast, the newlyweds tried to compose themselves and proceed with celebrations. Nakib reportedly shared the footage of what took place on his social media pages.

The Lebanese Red Cross is seeking donations to help with disaster prevention and relief. Other organizations that are accepting donations to help out the country suffering from the disaster include Lebanese Food Bank, Impact Lebanon and Amel Association.