Explosion in Beiriut

[karaddin]

There's been an enormous explosion at the port in Beirut. Videos circulating online show a fire burning in a fireworks warehouse/stockpile before it all goes up, I've seen it reported elsewhere that the fireworks set off a large amount of ammonium nitrate that was nearby. 

No casualty reports yet, but hospitals are slammed and turning away some people. From the videos its hard to imagine this isn't going to have a terrible toll, and Lebanon was already dealing with a crashed economy. Looks from photos that most of the port has been damaged/destroyed and that's hardly going to help.

Really hoping the location results in less people killed and injured than I'm fearing.

First official statement is that the large explosion was confiscated high explosive material that had been kept there, which seems like there's going to be more to this 

 

[karaddin]

And I'm seeing multiple reports that the smoke is toxic so there's also that to worry about for the city

[maarsen]

7 minutes ago, karaddin said:

There's been an enormous explosion at the port in Beirut. Videos circulating online show a fire burning in a fireworks warehouse/stockpile before it all goes up, I've seen it reported elsewhere that the fireworks set off a large amount of ammonium nitrate that was nearby. 

No casualty reports yet, but hospitals are slammed and turning away some people. From the videos its hard to imagine this isn't going to have a terrible toll, and Lebanon was already dealing with a crashed economy. Looks from photos that most of the port has been damaged/destroyed and that's hardly going to help.

Really hoping the location results in less people killed and injured than I'm fearing.

First official statement is that the large explosion was confiscated high explosive material that had been kept there, which seems like there's going to be more to this 

 

Thanks for posting this. I just saw it on my news  feed but I had no time to get into the details. Following stuff like this is easier here because I get different views and a lot of crap gets filtered out. 

[Fragile Bird]

I was just coming to post this story, but was busy in the Canadian thread. While I was writing my posts the story came on CNN. Holy crap, that is one bloody awful explosion. My heart goes out to the folks living there.

CNN was saying it was a warehouse full of fireworks. That has to be more than fireworks. But then again, there was a terrible explosion in South America a few years ago, in Lima, wasn't it? That was fireworks too.

[polishgenius]

Official word is that it was 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been confiscated six years ago and left sitting in the warehouse since then.

[Fragile Bird]

Just came to post that. 
 

The country is in bad shape, all their food imports came through the port. And a huge silo for wheat was destroyed. Every ambulance in the country has been called in. At least 60 dead, but it may be many many more.

[Rhom]

23 minutes ago, polishgenius said:

Official word is that it was 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been confiscated six years ago and left sitting in the warehouse since then.

Storing that in a fireworks warehouse seems... unwise.

There was a guy about a mile or two from my office that was making homemade fireworks for some reason back in June.  I asked the detective investigating it what happened and she said they were mixing the two chemicals (which were both legal) In. A. Blender.     It was a pretty small amount of chemicals in the scheme of things and it basically leveled a 3 bedroom brick house.  (The bricks were still standing, but everything inside it was blown apart.)

[karaddin]

And Trump is trying to stoke conflict claiming it was an attack/a bomb because fucking his own country isn't enough, he needs to pour petrol on the middle east.

[Wilbur]

So I am seeing reports that the ammonium nitrate had been stored for years in the port, that it was next to a warehouse full of fireworks, which were set afire by a welder who was closing an aperture to prevent its use by thieves.

I can't imagine how an ethically-operating Port or Customs Authority can store ammonium nitrate in a heavily inhabited urban environment.

https://fscimage.fishersci.com/msds/01290.htm

So dangerous - the MSDS clearly says to store it away from flammable materials and to keep it dry,  so probably not on the harbor next to a fireworks warehouse.

[Corvinus85]

So terrible and sad. I think a corruption scandal will likely break out hopefully leading to some convictions. No way anyone should have kept such material there. 

And so begins the month of August 2020.

[Rhom]

1 hour ago, karaddin said:

And Trump is trying to stoke conflict claiming it was an attack/a bomb because fucking his own country isn't enough, he needs to pour petrol on the middle east.

I mean... when I first heard about it, I just assumed it was either us or the Israelis.  

[DMC]

AP has it at more than 70 dead and 3 thousand injured.  Obviously not trying to defend Trump, but I don't think anything should be ruled out yet.

[Rhom]

2 minutes ago, DMC said:

AP has it at more than 70 dead and 3 thousand injured.  Obviously not trying to defend Trump, but I don't think anything should be ruled out yet.

Kinda my thoughts.  The ammonium nitrate could be legit... a truckload of similar was enough for OKC, so a warehouse full would be an impressive explosion.  But I’m not ready to just take the government of Lebanon on faith here.

[Spockydog]

19 minutes ago, Rhom said:

I mean... when I first heard about it, I just assumed it was either us or the Israelis.  

This from Bibi, just before the explosions.

That tweet makes zero contextual sense. What the hecc is he on about?

Also, people on reddit are arguing whether a fast moving object seen in some of the videos immediately before the explosion was a bird or a missile.

 

[karaddin]

8 minutes ago, DMC said:

AP has it at more than 70 dead and 3 thousand injured.  Obviously not trying to defend Trump, but I don't think anything should be ruled out yet.

There is a world of difference between not ruling it out, which I agree shouldn't happen, and making outright claims of it being something which is not at all supported by the evidence so far.

Unfortunately if the ammonium nitrate really had been stored there this long, the explosion being explained by disorganisation/corruption and being a genuine accident is not implausible and doesn't need anyone stoking shit by saying otherwise until the investigation suggests otherwise.

[Corvinus85]

I think it's fairly certain that the big explosion was a result of the ammonium nitrate igniting. What caused the fire that preceded it is not clear. If it was an attack, it could have simply been in the form of sabotage, no explosives necessary. I doubt it was a secret what was stored there.

[DMC]

9 minutes ago, karaddin said:

There is a world of difference between not ruling it out, which I agree shouldn't happen, and making outright claims of it being something which is not at all supported by the evidence so far.

Like I said, not defending Trump.  Just saying this is very curious.  Could be an accident - and if it was my gods...  But Hezbollah has had a strong presence in Lebanon for at least forty years.  Could be them.  Could be the Israelis and they fucked up.  Could be us.  Could be whatever the fuck.  That's all I was saying.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

It's too early to assign exact blame. Everything credible I've seen seems plausible. I just fear the death toll will get much larger, and regardless of the outcome, others may want some kind of vengeance.

Before we know more, our thoughts should just be with the dead and their friends and family. Who knows who did this until there's some more clarity.

[karaddin]

12 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

It's too early to assign exact blame. Everything credible I've seen seems plausible. I just fear the death toll will get much larger, and regardless of the outcome, others may want some kind of vengeance.

Before we know more, our thoughts should just be with the dead and their friends and family. Who knows who did this until there's some more clarity.

And with how to start providing the support I expect Lebanon is going to need. It was already in an economy crisis and the destruction of a major port is surely going to both worsen that situation and complicate delivery of aid. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

10 minutes ago, karaddin said:

And with how to start providing the support I expect Lebanon is going to need. It was already in an economy crisis and the destruction of a major port is surely going to both worsen that situation and complicate delivery of aid. 

Nvm, too cold.