Beirut, Lebanon (PortSEurope) August 5, 2020 – Beirut awoke to scenes of devastation on August 5, following two huge explosions in the port which sent a blast wave across the city, killing at least 100 people, injuring more than 4,000 and leaving many homeless.
The cause of the explosion was 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a common industrial chemical used in fertiliser and as a component in mining explosives from an abandoned Russian ship.
Aerial images from the scene of the explosion show that the blast destroyed silos that contained some 85% of the country’s grain. The wheat in Beirut’s port granaries cannot be used. The two blasts at 15:00 GMT on August 4 flattened the harbour front and surrounding buildings. Seismologists measured the event, which blew out windows at the city’s international airport 9 km away, as the equivalent of a magnitude 3.3 earthquake.
Rescuers have continued to search for victims who remain trapped under rubble. Hospitals, some damaged in the blast, have been inundated with patients.
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