Explosion in Beirut

[Andrew NDB]

What's your read on this? Horrible stuff.

https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/lebanon-beirut-explosion-live-updates-dle-intl/index.html

[Shark_Blade]

Horrific. You can see the crater size (est 75m) https://twitter.com/osinttechnical/status/1290895655939055616?s=21

[Mayhem]

Fire on ammonium nitrate storage setting off even more highly combustable material (butane so I read). Deliberate or accidental I have no idea currently. The massive white plume mushroom you see in the video footage is steam as it aerosoled the nearby dock water on a massive scale. Apparently the blast was felt in Cyprus, 150 miles away.

[Sumac]

Absolutely horrible.
The explosion itself is just insane.

If the reason was simple negligence, people responsible should be punished as strict as possible.

In general, to think that one of the biggest explosions in peaceful time had happened, because, of simple "human factor" as opposed to terrorism or war is mind-bongling.

[Papenbrook]

That's absolutely terrible.

My heart goes out to the deceased. I hope that those that were injured will be able to recover safely.

I wonder what could have caused the explosion.

[Sumac]

I wonder what could have caused the explosion.
2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate.
Apparently it was stored for almost 6 years without proper care.
It came from the Russian-owned ship, which was arrested in 2014 in Beirut.

Comparison of the ground zero of explosion before and after an incident. (https://twitter.com/xruiztru/status/1290996405776064514)

P.S.
There is an unconfirmed rumor that warehouse was housing missiles, which another Muslim terrorist group was planned to use to attack Israel.

[The Great Saiyaman]

Very similar to what happened 20 years ago in Enschede in the Netherlands, again a fireworks depot in a residential area which was insufficiently maintained and monitored.
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The footage speaks for itself.