Massive explosion rocks Beirut, causing hundreds of injuries and widespread damage


Recommended Posts

Quote

BEIRUT — A large explosion rocked the port area of Lebanon's capital, Beirut, on Tuesday, injuring hundreds and causing widespread damage in a densely populated part of the city.

 

Images and videos on social media appear to show large plumes of smoke and damaged buildings, but the cause of the blast and exact location are not immediately clear.

 

“Injuries are definitely within the hundreds," a spokesman for the Lebanese Red Cross told NBC News by telephone. "I cannot give a specific number of casualties at the moment, we are overwhelmed with cases.”

 

Lebanon's National News Agency reported the cause may have been a fire in a hangar where explosives were being stored in the Beirut port, on the country's west coast.

 

Images and videos posted on social media and verified by NBC News' social newsgathering team, compared with satellite imagery, appear to corroborate that the explosion happened at a warehouse at Beirut Port Silos.

 

//snip

 

NBC News

 

I believe the latest death toll is 10.  However, it is probably going to be much, much higher.  Beirut's hospitals are also at capacity due to COVID-19.

 

 

That explosion was extraordinary.
 

From the sea,

Further away,

 

 

 

Quote

Separately Al Mayadeen television cited Lebanon’s customs director general as saying tonnes of nitrate had exploded.

 
 

 

11 minutes ago, wakjak said:

I believe the number of deaths will be in the hundreds... with an explosion that massive, how can it not be?

What the hell happened? What could cause such an explosion?

Rumors are Hezbaloh had a stock pile of weapons there... there was a separate fire that spread (fireworks rumored) to a building with flammable chemicals, which also caught on fire, and then reached the weapons stock pile. 

Edited by shockz

Not sure about Hezbollah involvement but... 

 

 

 

That's a hell of a lot of ammonium nitrate sitting around unsecured.... 

 

Hopefully they find out who /why something like that was allowed to happen... 

  • Like 3
5 minutes ago, jnelsoninjax said:

Was this a terrorist attack or just really poor planing/storage of flammable and explosive materials?

 
 

I haven't heard of anyone taking claim of the incident yet.  From what I've been reading so far, it sounds like it was negligence.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
39 minutes ago, jnelsoninjax said:

Was this a terrorist attack or just really poor planing/storage of flammable and explosive materials?

 Normally Terrorists don't start a fire first. They just blow it up.

27 minutes ago, dipsylalapo said:

Some of that footage was taken really close to the epicentre. I really hope that those who filmed where okay :/

 

I've seen a Tweet last night about the Tweet that has a video in @mudslag post that the person that filmed that view did indeed die as a result of the explosion.

 

 

Saw this on the news this morning, really sad at the loss of life :( but it was not a terrorist incident and of course the idiot President in the US immediately said his generals told him it was a bomb, meanwhile the actual cause was already known yesterday:

Quote

 

President Michel Aoun said the blast was caused by 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely in a warehouse.

Ammonium nitrate is used as a fertiliser in agriculture and as an explosive.

 

The ammonium nitrate was seized off a ship in 2013 and stored unsafely for all that time, so it basically was an accident waiting to happen.

 

Updates here: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53659282

 

7 minutes ago, Steven P. said:

Saw this on the news this morning, really sad at the loss of life :( but it was not a terrorist incident and of course the idiot President in the US immediately said his generals told him it was a bomb, meanwhile the actual cause was already known yesterday:

The ammonium nitrate was seized off a ship in 2013 and stored unsafely for all that time, so it basically was an accident waiting to happen.

 

Updates here: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53659282

 

yeah I saw trump say that this morning and first thought was gawd trump just shut up........ everyone already knew what happened when he said that at the press conference and yet he goes on with that.....

17 minutes ago, neufuse said:

yeah I saw trump say that this morning and first thought was gawd trump just shut up........ everyone already knew what happened when he said that at the press conference and yet he goes on with that.....

I know, he just believes his own BS even when everyone else is saying something else. What annoyed me is that the Dutch news gave him any credence at all with the incident, that spreads a false narrative, for what? 

6 minutes ago, Steven P. said:

I know, he just believes his own BS even when everyone else is saying something else. What annoyed me is that the Dutch news gave him any credence at all with the incident, that spreads a false narrative, for what? 

all he should of said was "we're sending aid" end of story... but nope...

2 hours ago, Steven P. said:

Saw this on the news this morning, really sad at the loss of life :( but it was not a terrorist incident and of course the idiot President in the US immediately said his generals told him it was a bomb, meanwhile the actual cause was already known yesterday:

The ammonium nitrate was seized off a ship in 2013 and stored unsafely for all that time, so it basically was an accident waiting to happen.

 

Updates here: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53659282

 

Exactly what I was going to say about that idiot President and his informants!

Technically, it was a bomb since ammonium nitrate is the main/most important component used in some bombs/explosive materials.  No one planted anything but storing that much ammonium nitrate improperly, a disaster waiting to happen.

 

But anyway, just curious on what started the fire to begin with and why the ammonium nitrate was stored for 6 years and not properly disposed of.   This could have been avoided.

Edited by techbeck

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • And Microsoft got walloped on here for what they were charging for the new Surface book. Not looking as bad now. This was inevitable as they have to maintain those Apple margins.
    • Now 8GB of ram looks even worse in the Neo. I'm so happy I purchased 128GB of DDR 4 when I did.... paid $174. Upgraded my parents laptop to 32GB around the same time for $48. Luckily I have a TON of spare laptops. So i'm good on laptops for a while. I also have a lot of desktops too that I could use if i had to. Lets just hope nothing happens to my main 4 monitor couch workstation.
    • I will keep my current devices for several years... no planning in upgrading until these devices stop working. Too pricey.
    • Apple raises MacBook and iPad prices as memory costs surge by Karthik Mudaliar Apple has raised the U.S. prices of several MacBook and iPad models, including the MacBook Neo, which it launched for $599 less than four months ago. The company’s cheapest laptop now starts at $699, while some MacBook Pro configurations have increased by $300. The changes affect the MacBook Neo, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iPad Air, and iPad Pro. Apple has not changed the hardware or storage included with these models, so customers are simply paying more for the same configurations. Here is how the new US pricing compares with the previous starting prices: Product Previous price New price Increase MacBook Neo $599 $699 $100 13-inch MacBook Air, 512GB $1,099 $1,299 $200 14-inch MacBook Pro, 1TB $1,699 $1,999 $300 16-inch MacBook Pro $2,699 $2,999 $300 11-inch iPad Air, 128GB $599 $749 $150 13-inch iPad Air, 128GB $799 $949 $150 11-inch iPad Pro, 256GB $999 $1,199 $200 13-inch iPad Pro, 256GB $1,299 $1,499 $200 The updated prices are already appearing on Apple’s U.S. online store. The MacBook Neo increase will probably attract the most attention. Apple introduced the laptop in March for $599, pitching it as a more affordable Mac for students and buyers considering Windows laptops or Chromebooks. It uses an A18 Pro processor and originally undercut Dell’s new $699 XPS 13 by $100. Following the increase, the two laptops now have the same starting price. The M5 MacBook Air has also lost the price Apple promoted when it launched in March. The 13-inch model arrived with 512GB of storage for $1,099, while Apple’s store now lists the MacBook Air range as starting at $1,299. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chip and 1TB of storage has gone from $1,699 to $1,999. Apple has made similar changes to its iPads. The recently released M4 iPad Air, which launched at the same $599 starting price as its predecessor, now starts at $749 for the 11-inch version. The 13-inch version has risen from $799 to $949. The iPad Pro increases are larger in dollar terms. Apple’s 11-inch M5 iPad Pro now starts at $1,199, up from $999, while the 13-inch version has moved from $1,299 to $1,499. Both base models still include 256GB of storage. Apple blamed the increases on the rapidly rising cost of DRAM and NAND flash, which provide system memory and device storage. The company told Reuters that it had tried to shield customers from the increases but could no longer absorb them. “We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly,” Apple said. Tim Cook had already warned that price increases were coming. Cook said Apple’s existing component inventory had softened the immediate impact, but that higher memory costs would increasingly affect the company after the June quarter. Much of the pressure comes from the construction of AI data centers. Memory manufacturers are directing more production toward high-margin server products, leaving PC, tablet, and smartphone makers competing for the remaining supply. Apple has not said whether the new prices are temporary or whether further increases are planned. For now, the changes show that even Apple’s purchasing power has not been enough to keep the AI-driven memory shortage away from consumer devices.
    • Ventoy 1.1.16 is out.
  • Recent Achievements

    • First Post
      kinowa earned a badge
      First Post
    • Rookie
      krychek57 went up a rank
      Rookie
    • Grand Master
      Jaybonaut went up a rank
      Grand Master
    • One Year In
      Philsl earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Dedicated
      Scoobystu earned a badge
      Dedicated
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      453
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      169
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      134
    4. 4
      Xenon
      77
    5. 5
      Michael Scrip
      76
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!