What has happened in Beirut? 50 dead, thousands injured

This is so shocking.
Apparently, so it is reported, it was a store of ammonium nitrate which exploded.

Yes, watching the news now, so much of it stored near the city centre. No-one seems to know yet what set it off, but Beirut has suffered so much already

It was like a nuclear explosion absolutely dreadful.

Shocking ! Why would explosives be stored near a city ?

If this has been deliberate there'll be one Hell of a price to pay.

It was, apparently stored at the port and was 'in transit'.

From the video clips I've seen it looks as though there was something on fire initially, but then it caught the warehouse, which exploded.

Unimaginable for those poor souls. Lebanon is already having terrible economic problems as it is.

It was reported that it had been stored in the warehouse for six years.

Yes, Maizie there seemed to be a fire just before the huge explosion.

Such awful news, confiscated haul was the source of the explosion, which looked something akin to what we all imagine a nuclear bomb going off would look like. The noise from that could be heard as far away as Cyprus.

So sorry for the people, who have lived through turbulent times in recent history. 100 dead and 4,000 injured so far, do hope the rest of the world will rally around them.

I mentioned how sorry I was earlier on the Good Morning thread. Terrible news and as others have mentioned it looked more like a nuclear bomb had exploded . Those poor people.

100 dead.
4 thousand injured.
A welding accident started a fire which ignited the stored fertiliser.

I'm sure the death toll will continue to rise. An awful event for people who'll find it so hard to cope, survive or rebuild.

Just terrible! After all Beirut has been through in the past.
I visited the city ( a long long time ago) when it was a lovely vibrant place.
I hope the rescuers find casualties quickly.

Lemongrove that’s interesting.

It used to be a beautiful city of culture, cafes, lovely food and people just getting on with their lives ... It has been through so much war and strife and now it looks like it has been hit by a nuclear holocaust.

Those poor people ...

Just shocking, no more really to say, appalling!

A dear friend is there on mission just now and posted that it was like being in the centre of a large earthquake (she has experience) the top floors of the Hotel collapsed and all the windows blew in. They are all safe but many parts of the city are very dangerous.
Truly tragic and the Hospitals are overwhelmed.

So very sad to read about this dreadful explosion. As has already been said I hope that the rest of the world rally round to help them

Not in transit MaizieD it has been there fom 6 years and every year it was getting more and more dangerous . I know people who have lost their homes and the state of the economy means they might get nothing back .

Floradora9

Not in transit MaizieD it has been there fom 6 years and every year it was getting more and more dangerous . I know people who have lost their homes and the state of the economy means they might get nothing back .

Thanks, Floradora. As I read further last night I realised that my information wasn't quite correct.

There must be questions asked about the security of its storage, I suppose.

Apparently much of Lebanon's much needed imported grain was stored at the port and was destroyed in the blast and fire. I hope the world rallies round to help...

The scenes being shown on our television screens tonight are appalling and hearts all around the world are saddened in the thoughts of what has happened to a nation of people who have already been through so much.

In Britain, we are fortunate to live in a country where there are strict controls on chemical products such as Ammonium nitrate which if not stored and handled correctly can become extremely volatile.

It is the duty of everyone in the UK to ensure that the safety legislation we have at present is maintained, for it was the limited relaxation of that legislation that brought about the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

The Beirut Tragedy has immensely demonstrated what can happen when what many call red tape work is dispensed with almost wholly.

300,000 people displaced from their homes and thousands injured during a pandemic, their hospitals already filled with covid patients-

MaizieD and Floradora

It was reported yesterday that this cargo had been in transit six years ago, the ship called into Beirut and the cargo was impounded.
It had been stored in that warehouse ever since.

If, of course, that initial report was correct.

i read that the magnitude of the explosion was about one fifth of that at hiroshima. without the nuclear fallout of course.
strangely today is also hiroshima day.

There is a video circulating of a bride posing for her photo shoot when the explosion occured- You can hear what sounds like a faint explosion in the distance, then seconds later the blast arrives where she is at- I don't know how far away she was from the explosion itself-

m.youtube.com/watch?v=8SovqKGFlho

I saw that rosecarmel

Apparently the blast was heard and felt in Cyprus, 100 miles away. They thought it was an earthquake.

One family with small children was watching the first fire through the windows of their flat when the explosion occurred and filming it. The windows blew in and, as far as I know, they weren't badly hurt. They must be very shocked.