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

    • Age of Empires Mobile comes to PC, here's how to carry over progress from your phone by Ivan Jenic Image: YouTube/Microsoft Microsoft just released Age of Empires Mobile for PC. The game, officially called Age of Empires Mobile: PC Edition, is available for free on Steam and Microsoft Store, almost two years after its initial release for handheld devices. Age of Empires is one of those franchises that entire generations grew up with. The original came out in 1997, and immediately got people hooked to building civilizations and crushing their enemies on the battlefield. However, the franchise today is a far cry from its roots, as Age of Empires Mobile is, well, a game optimized for handheld devices, and not a classic RTS title we’ve all loved for years. And, of course, it includes in-game purchases. The PC version is still a mobile game at its core, but it’s been optimized for desktop play. There’s mouse control, full keyboard compatibility, and a refined UI. Microsoft also refreshed the visuals with some 4k textures, so the game should look better on larger screens. The game supports Crossplay, so you can switch between your phone, tablet, and PC without losing anything. But linked progress doesn’t come out of the box, as you have to enable it first. Here’s how to link your progress: On your mobile device, open Age of Empires Mobile. Go to Settings (Gear icon) > Account. Select Bind Account and choose a sign-in option. Once you enable account binding, sign in on PC using the same method, and your progress will be accessible across all your devices. Xbox Game Pass subscribers also get a bonus reward pack on PC, which includes: 1 Monthly Pass Token 1 Custom Resource Chest 10 Universal 60-Minute Speed-Ups 1,000 Empire Coins Exclusive Player Portrait Frame You can find more info about Age of Empires Mobile: PC Edition, as well as download links, on the Age of Empires official website.
    • Apple Watch Series 11 GPS just crashed to 30% off in this fast-moving Prime Day deal by Karthik Mudaliar The Apple Watch Series 11 is available for $279, down from its $399 list price, saving buyers $120, or 30%. Amazon labels the offer as selling fast, so the current price may not remain available for long. This GPS model features a 42mm aluminum case, an Always-On Retina LTPO3 OLED display capable of reaching up to 2,000 nits, and an Ion-X glass surface with improved scratch resistance. Apple rates Series 11 for up to 24 hours of normal use or up to 38 hours in Low Power Mode, with fast charging providing up to eight hours of use from a 15-minute charge. Health and fitness tools include sleep scoring, temperature sensing, ECG support, heart-rate alerts, workout tracking, sleep apnea notifications, and hypertension notifications, where available. The watch also carries IP6X dust resistance and 50-meter water resistance. This configuration is best suited to iPhone owners who want comprehensive health tracking, notifications, contactless payments, and workout data without stepping up to a larger or cellular-equipped model. The smaller case should also appeal to buyers who prefer a lighter watch, while the S/M band fits wrists measuring 130mm to 180mm. With the current generation now significantly below its usual retail price, this is a strong time to replace an aging Apple Watch or buy a first model without compromising on Apple’s newest health and display features. Grab the discounted Apple Watch Series 11 (sold and shipped by Amazon) Good to know This Amazon deal is U.S. specific, and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • The laptop in the bedroom is an Acer with i7-10510U CPU. Acer's website states they will not be upgrading it so I had little choice other than disable secure boot. I know next to nothing on these matters so hopefully it will be fine.
    • GitHub removes manual model selection from Copilot free and student plans by Karthik Mudaliar GitHub is removing the ability to manually select an AI model from its Copilot Free and Student plans, making its automatic routing system the default and only way to choose a model. This means users on these tiers will no longer be able to deliberately select a particular OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, or Microsoft model for a task. In its announcement, GitHub said Copilot Auto will dynamically choose what it considers the best model for each request. Free and Student accounts will retain access to models from multiple families, although the available selection will continue to depend on the restrictions attached to each plan. GitHub did not identify a fixed pool of models that Auto will always use, and its documentation warns that model availability can change over time. GitHub describes Auto as more than a random fallback system. On supported surfaces, its task-optimization technology evaluates the complexity of a request alongside real-time information about model health and availability. Straightforward prompts can be routed to faster and less expensive models, while more demanding coding tasks may be sent to higher-cost reasoning models. The company says this approach should reduce rate limiting, latency, and failed requests. Auto generally selects one model along natural prompt-caching boundaries rather than repeatedly switching models during a session, as GitHub found that mid-session changes increased costs without producing sufficient improvements in output quality. Users can still check which model generated a response. In Copilot Chat, the information appears when hovering over an answer, while Copilot CLI and the Copilot cloud agent display the selected model alongside their output. Auto is available in Copilot Chat, Copilot CLI, and the cloud agent, with the exact implementation and release status varying between supported development environments. The latest restriction follows several months of adjustments to Copilot’s individual plans. GitHub temporarily halted new Pro, Pro+, and Student subscriptions in April as it sought to manage demand and service reliability. It later introduced token-based billing and began gradually reopening individual-plan registrations on June 17. Alongside the picker change, GitHub is retiring the “Preview” label from Microsoft-developed models. It argues that the label is no longer necessary because Auto handles model routing and models are continuously updated behind the scenes.
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Year In
      Philsl earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Dedicated
      Scoobystu earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • First Post
      Tom Schmidt earned a badge
      First Post
    • One Month Later
      D0nn13 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Rookie
      +ChiefOfNeo went up a rank
      Rookie
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      460
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      177
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      124
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      79
    5. 5
      Xenon
      76
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!