Rescue workers in the Lebanese capital Beirut continue digging through the rubble in the hope of finding people missing following an accident described by the head of the Lebanese Red Cross as a “huge catastrophe”. Officials say at least 100 have died, but note that the death toll is likely to rise.
It felt as if a small nuclear bomb went off in the city, Ahmad Shalha a journalist working in Beirut told Sputnik, commenting on a devastating blast that occurred in the Lebanese capital on 4 August. Shalha and his family were 20 kilometres from the epicentre of the blast, but it was so powerful that windows in the house they were staying at blew out from the shockwave.
When he asked eyewitnesses what happened, they told him about three explosions – the first two explosions produced plumes of smoke of different colours. Shalha was told by eyewitnesses that these explosions came from fireworks stored in the tank with nitrate ammonium. This was initially thought to be the cause of the accident, however, later authorities suggested that it might have been caused by explosives, ammonium nitrate, stored in a warehous at the port. The third blast was the one that devastated the city. Shalha was told that the explosion was even heard in neighboring Cyprus.
The accident is extraordinary even for troubled-ridden Lebanon, a country that was mired in a 15-year civil war and fought numerous military conflicts with Israel, said Ahmad Shalha.
According to Lebanese officials the blast was caused by 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, which has been stored at a warehouse since 2014. The chemical compound is used in agriculture and as an explosive. Investigators are now trying to establish what triggered the explosion.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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