Beirut explosion kills over 137 and 5, 000 injured

Getting explosion under control — Getting Beruit explosion under control

REscue workers searching for survivors — Rescue workers searching for survivors

Amonium nitrate explosion — Ammonium nitrate explosion

Rescue workers search for survivors of Beirut deadly explosion at Beirut port were over a 137 people killed and injured over 5, 000. The entire city was shaken by the explosion and a mushroom cloud could be seen from miles spreading over the port area.

President Michel Aoun said the blast was caused by 2, 750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate which is used as a fertilizer in agriculture, used as one of the main components in explosives used in mining and as an explosive stored unsafely in a warehouse. When it explodes it can release toxic gases including nitrogen oxides and ammonia. Shards of glass filled the highway leading into Beirut from the north.

The blast also felt 240kim ( 150 miles) away on the island of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean.

George Kettanim head of Lebanon’s Red Cross said “huge catastrophe and there are victims and casualties everywhere”.

The irony of the situation is in 2013 a Panama registered cargo vessel carrying 2, 700 tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate was stranded at Beirut port due to mechanical failures. The ships’ owners deserted the ship and left it’s crew high and dry for several months and thereafter the ship’s crew were allowed to leave the ship to go home. The ship was impounded for non-payment of dues and its cargo of ammonium nitrate was offloaded into some warehouses inside the port. The legal battle between the port and ship owners continued for years while the cargo of ammonium nitrate rotted in the warehouses on land.

The Lebanese government has announced a two-week state of emergency in Beirut. The cabinet has asked security forces to ensure that no-one tampers with the scene of Tuesday’s huge explosion as up to 300, 000 people have been left homeless according to Beirut governor. Major General Abbas Ibrahim of Lebanon’s general security Directorate, said the massive blast that shook Beirut’s port area was caused by confiscated “ high explosive materials”.

The Moldovan-flagged ship, The Rhosus, entered Beirut port after suffering technical problems during its voyage from Georgia to Mozambique, according to Shoparrested.com which deals with shipping-related legal cases.

Beirut port officials in house arrest after the blast. Customs chief Badri Daher said his agency called for the chemicals to be removed, but “this did not happen.”

Economy minister Raoul Nehme said “I think it is incompetence and really bad management and there are a lot of responsibilities from management and probably previous governments. We do not intend after such an explosion to stay silent on who is responsible for what.”

Three French planes are due to arrive carrying 55 rescuers, medical equipment, and a mobile clinic equipped to treat 500 people, and President Emmanuel Macron will visit on Thursday. The EU, Russia, Tunisia, Turkey, Iran, and Qatar are all sending relief supplies.

The explosion comes amid Covid-19 pandemic on the rise, hospitals were already struggling to cope. People have to deal with daily power cuts a lack of safe drinking water and limited public healthcare.