Massive explosion in Beirut

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

It looks like 2750 tons of Ammonium Nitrate caught fire and exploded in the port(BBC video report will have some distressing scenes):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-53656220


Nearly 4000 injured so far and dozens have died. This is happening in the middle of the Covid19 outbreak,and with increasing tensions in the region,and their main port is now wrecked.2020 seems to be getting even more suckier!

[Galant]

I saw that last night. There's a cut of it from different people's mobile phones. I was dumbfounded. There's so much horrible news and so many unpleasant events that it's easy to get desensitized to it all, but this one moved me.

I did see a Tweet yesterday with a silver lining of sorts. Due to the COVID restrictions it's apparently the case that fewer people were in the area than normally would have been. So that's something at least.

EDIT - They're saying the blast was felt as far away as Cyprus!! - https://twitter.com/TIME/status/1290...726530561?s=20

[Spreadie]

It's rare that **breaking news** actually surprises me any more, but I was absolutely dumbstruck when I saw the reports yesterday.

The number of injured is horrific - I hope the number of dead is disproportionately low but, the way this year is going, I doubt that will be the case.

Seriously, 2020 can just do one.

[Helios451]

Apparently, the ammonium nitrate was sitting there since being unloaded from a ship in 2013. On it's own it's pretty stable but contamination with fuel oil, which is suspected here, turns it into an explosive. The commercial version of this is known as ANFO - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANFO

[[GSV]Trig]

Already see that the media are looking for a Russia connection...

[ik9000]

Already see that the media are looking for a Russia connection...

I don't think that's quite fair. They looked into the origins of the stuff that exploded and turns out it came from a ship that its Cypriot-Russian owner abandoned (crew and all) in 2014 refusing to pay fees, it seems, and hence the confiscated cargo could not simply be destroyed without risking legal claims. A bit of a catch 22 for the port authority I imagine. It's not far fetched to assume someone that unscrupulous wouldn't be waiting for an opportunity to recoup losses if they'd destroyed his goods. I presume there is some law about how long siezed goods have to be retained to give their original owner chance to reclaim them - a bit like the 14 days landlords have to store tenants goods left in a property etc. What is baffling is why safe storage methods weren't employed, the material distributed further afield to better suited locations, and why it was still port-side several years later, whether or not they were still obliged to store it (and 6 years seems an awful long time for such an obligation, even if one does exist).

[adidan]

That blast took me aback. Initially I thought the fire was the aftermath of the explosion until the actual explosion.

[Hoonigan]

https://youtu.be/N1CvRTqDJhc

That's genuinely terrifying. The quality of the video really adds to the whole thing.

[pp05]

The Govt should resign. I know a few ministers already have. The public will have 0 confidence in them after this.

[DanceswithUnix]

Scary on so many levels. An interesting write up of what happened on Ars:

https://arstechnica.com/science/2020...ion-in-beirut/

I'm surprised there weren't more dead, but sounds like that port was a big part of their economy and a lot of their grain stores went up.

Ars ends with a link to Vogue's how to help page. https://en.vogue.me/culture/lebanon-...s-how-to-help/

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The Govt should resign. I know a few ministers already have. The public will have 0 confidence in them after this.

Apparently now they have:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-9Ld735_Mg

[ik9000]

problem is they only formed in January, and the PM actually sounds like he wanted to reform things - at least that's what his leaving statement implies. Hard to see why they're being blamed given the history behind this one. I get people are upset but did they sign off on it or something?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Video taken only 600M from the explosion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uudu...ture=emb_title
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/06/w...rnd/index.html

[Xlucine]

HMS Enterprise has arrived:



A useful ship for the situation - with the size of the crater there's obviously a lot of earth moved around underwater, and a survey vessel like enterprise can map the new harbour floor to determine safe routes for larger ships to unload

[Saracen999]

The Govt should resign. I know a few ministers already have. The public will have 0 confidence in them after this.

But you can read those resignations two ways. One - a principled stand. Two - jumping before getting pushed .... or blamed (distraction, deflection or damage limtation). Few willingly (and long-term) remove their snouts from the trough. What's the odds they try to reinsert snouts into troughs when the heat (excuse pun) has died down?

Knowing that most politicians have a healthy sense of ego, and CYA, I'm inclined towards option two.

[ik9000]

But you can read those resignations two ways. One - a principled stand. Two - jumping before getting pushed .... or blamed (distraction, deflection or damage limtation). Few willingly (and long-term) remove their snouts from the trough. What's the odds they try to reinsert snouts into troughs when the heat (excuse pun) has died down?

Knowing that most politicians have an unhealthy sense of ego, and CYA, I'm inclined towards option two.

correct that for you.