Taiwanese company Gold Apollo said Wednesday that it authorized its brand on the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria but that another company based in Budapest manufactured them. The pagers were manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT,

The model of pagers used in detonations in Lebanon were made by Budapest-based BAC Consulting, Taiwanese pager firm Gold Apollo said on Wednesday, adding it had only licensed out its brand to the company and was not involved in the production of the devices.

Then, at 3.30pm local time on Tuesday, thousands of Gold Apollo-branded pagers exploded in Beirut, plunging the Lebanese capital into a panic, and sending hundreds of members of the powerful Lebanese militant group, Hizbollah, to overcrowded hospitals with mangled hands, facial injuries and worse.

Taiwanese company Gold Apollo said Wednesday that it authorized its brand on the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria but that another company based in Budapest manufactured them. Hundreds of handheld pagers exploded almost simultaneously Tuesday across Lebanon and in parts of Syria,