Beirut has been badly hit by massive explosion in city’s port area on Tuesday. Officials said that initial cause is thousand of tons of ammonium nitrate, but it is still uncleared what cause the explosion that kill at least 135 people and thousands were wounded.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun said: "No words can describe the horror of the disaster that has hit Beirut last night, turning it to a disaster-stricken city,".
Video footages taken Tuesday's explosion, which followed a smaller explosion and fire in a warehouse at the port. The explosion created an immense shock wave that crushed windows and was felt for miles around.
Aerial footage shows the port and surrounding areas are now a wasteland of destroyed buildings and crushed vehicles. With smoke still rising at the blast site, rescue workers are excavating through the debris in search of victims trapped beneath. Families have posted pictures of loved ones on an Instagram page that's been set up for the missing.
Ammonium nitrate is the same raw material Timothy McVeigh used to bomb the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995. In that deadly attack, 2 tons of the fertilizer were used. The Beirut port was holding an estimated 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, Aoun said.
The explosion "disfigured Beirut" and "shocked the whole world," the president said. Lebanon's flag is now flying at half-staff at Baabda Palace and other government buildings.
Health officials said the blast killed 135 people and wounded about 5,000. The city's governor told local media that the explosion, which was heard over 50 miles away, has "destroyed more than half the Lebanese capital." Hundreds of people have been left homeless, he said. The blast was so strong that it was felt in Cyprus, more than 100 miles away in the Mediterranean Sea.
Even before the explosion, Lebanon already had more than its share of calamities. An extended economic crisis has thrown its currency into a free fall, a situation worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Protesters have been demonstrating for months, upset by the struggle to obtain basic necessities and frustrated with the political oligarchy that oversees it all. Tuesday's explosion is sure to sharpen that anger and fuel accusations that Lebanon's government is too inept, too corrupt — or a dangerous mix of the two — to serve its people.
The government has set up an investigative committee to determine who is responsible for the decisions that led to storing tons of ammonium nitrate in a warehouse without taking enough safety or preventive measures to prevent Tuesday's catastrophe.
The chemical is widely used in fertilizers but also to make explosives and barrel bombs. Some have speculated that the supply may have been part of Hezbollah's bomb-making arsenal. An investigation is underway to find the exact trigger for the explosion. Lebanon's Supreme Defense Council said those responsible will face the "maximum punishment" possible.
Some claims that this was a under cover attack by Israeli forces as Israeli PM has recently threatened Hezbollah that they will be punished harshly. An F-16 stealth fighter and anti-ship missile said to be used in this attack which is still not clear as Israel clearly refused these blames.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it has sent emergency medical supplies to 12 hospitals in and around Beirut. The tragedy quickly overwhelmed ambulance and hospital services on Tuesday, and officials have repeatedly urged people to donate blood to help care for the wounded.
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