Anger at politicians as city lies in pieces …
Top story: Lethal stash was from impounded ship
Aerial view of Beirut’s destroyed port. Photograph: Getty Images
by Warren Murray Thu 6 Aug 2020
ALL VIDEOS ARE AT THE END
Lebanese officials have admitted the massive port explosion in Beirut that killed at least 135 people, injured thousands and left many more homeless came from nearly 3,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate kept unsafely in a warehouse since 2014. As recently as six months ago, officials inspecting the consignment warned that if not moved it would “blow up all of Beirut”. The government, facing popular fury, said it was putting an unspecified number of Beirut port officials under house arrest pending an investigation into how the highly explosive materials came to be stored less than 100 metres from residential neighbourhoods.
In 2014 a Russian-owned vessel carrying the chemical – a fertiliser that can be used in bombs – was impounded at Beirut’s port, with its load apparently confiscated and taken ashore. Various reports said a fire started at a warehouse in the port before spreading to the ammonium nitrate’s storehouse and igniting the contents.
The explosion has left much of East Beirut uninhabitable and 300,000 people are said by the governor to have fled the city. International rescue crews have begun flying in to help with the search for survivors. Martin Chulov writes: “Ground zero of the explosion that destroyed much of the Lebanese capital was an enormous arc of warehouses, restaurants, homes and shops that, until Tuesday evening, were the still-functioning heart of an already dying city … Grappling with the cause of such a catastrophic event looms as yet another test for a government that has failed to convince many Lebanese that it is up to implementing a stated goal of introducing accountability. ‘If any country wants to help us, please help institutions you can trust,’ said Fady Haddad, a doctor. ‘Not through the government.’” Here is how anyone wishing to donate can help.
Beirut explosion: death toll rises to 137 as army takes control of site
Volunteers help clean up shattered streets as officials begin blame game over ammonium nitrate storage
Beirut explosion: anger at officials grows after missed warnings
Michael Safi @safimichael Thu 6 Aug 2020
The death toll from a massive blast at Beirut’s port has risen again to 137, as the Lebanese army took control of the site on the first day of a two-week state of emergency.
The new casualty figures on Thursday morning include at least 5,000 injured and a health ministry spokesman said dozens were still missing. “This toll is not final,” he said.
As volunteers worked with the army to clean up shattered streets, buildings and hospitals, the government said it had formed an investigation committee to look into the explosion, which appears to have been set off by 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been stored at the port since 2014.
Lebanese officials have started blaming each other for leaving the highly explosive substance sitting so close to residential neighbourhoods for six years. The ammonium nitrate was taken from a ship that docked in Beirut in 2013 and was apparently abandoned by its Russian owner and mostly Ukrainian crew.
Badri Daher, the director general of Lebanese customs, said on Wednesday his office had sent six letters to the country’s judiciary urging them to deal with the chemicals either by exporting the load, reselling it or giving it to the army.
Part of the destroyed port as rescue work continues.
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by Warren Murray Thu 6 Aug 2020
ALL VIDEOS ARE AT THE END
Lebanese officials have admitted the massive port explosion in Beirut that killed at least 135 people, injured thousands and left many more homeless came from nearly 3,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate kept unsafely in a warehouse since 2014. As recently as six months ago, officials inspecting the consignment warned that if not moved it would “blow up all of Beirut”. The government, facing popular fury, said it was putting an unspecified number of Beirut port officials under house arrest pending an investigation into how the highly explosive materials came to be stored less than 100 metres from residential neighbourhoods.
In 2014 a Russian-owned vessel carrying the chemical – a fertiliser that can be used in bombs – was impounded at Beirut’s port, with its load apparently confiscated and taken ashore. Various reports said a fire started at a warehouse in the port before spreading to the ammonium nitrate’s storehouse and igniting the contents.
The explosion has left much of East Beirut uninhabitable and 300,000 people are said by the governor to have fled the city. International rescue crews have begun flying in to help with the search for survivors. Martin Chulov writes: “Ground zero of the explosion that destroyed much of the Lebanese capital was an enormous arc of warehouses, restaurants, homes and shops that, until Tuesday evening, were the still-functioning heart of an already dying city … Grappling with the cause of such a catastrophic event looms as yet another test for a government that has failed to convince many Lebanese that it is up to implementing a stated goal of introducing accountability. ‘If any country wants to help us, please help institutions you can trust,’ said Fady Haddad, a doctor. ‘Not through the government.’” Here is how anyone wishing to donate can help.
Beirut explosion: death toll rises to 137 as army takes control of site
Volunteers help clean up shattered streets as officials begin blame game over ammonium nitrate storage
Beirut explosion: anger at officials grows after missed warnings
Michael Safi @safimichael Thu 6 Aug 2020
The death toll from a massive blast at Beirut’s port has risen again to 137, as the Lebanese army took control of the site on the first day of a two-week state of emergency.
The new casualty figures on Thursday morning include at least 5,000 injured and a health ministry spokesman said dozens were still missing. “This toll is not final,” he said.
As volunteers worked with the army to clean up shattered streets, buildings and hospitals, the government said it had formed an investigation committee to look into the explosion, which appears to have been set off by 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been stored at the port since 2014.
Lebanese officials have started blaming each other for leaving the highly explosive substance sitting so close to residential neighbourhoods for six years. The ammonium nitrate was taken from a ship that docked in Beirut in 2013 and was apparently abandoned by its Russian owner and mostly Ukrainian crew.
Badri Daher, the director general of Lebanese customs, said on Wednesday his office had sent six letters to the country’s judiciary urging them to deal with the chemicals either by exporting the load, reselling it or giving it to the army.
Part of the destroyed port as rescue work continues.
Photograph: Wael Hamzeh/EPA
An unspecified number of port officials have been ordered to be placed under house arrest pending the investigation, which is scheduled to take five days. It will report to the national cabinet, which will refer its findings to the judiciary.
Amnesty International was among the organisations calling for an independent investigation into the circumstances leading up to the explosion.
“Whatever may have caused the explosion, including the possibility of a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely, Amnesty is calling for an international mechanism to be promptly set up to investigate how this happened,” said Julie Verhaar, the group’s acting secretary general.
Protests have been planned for central Beirut on Thursday afternoon as residents of the capital seethed at a disaster that appears to have been foreseeable and frequently warned about.
Beirut's ground zero: a rip through the heart of an already dying city
One one shattered balcony, someone hung a thin noose along with the sign, “Whose heads will be hung?” Lebanese social media was trending with the hashtag “Hang up the nooses”, as rage threatened to boil over in the grief-stricken city.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, arrived in Beirut on Thursday morning, the first world leader to visit in the wake of the disaster. His office said he would head straight to the blast site. He is expected to call for international aid to rebuild Beirut but also press for changes to the political system – a major hurdle to receiving billions of dollars of aid to alleviate one of the worst financial crises in modern Lebanese history.
“For the president, it’s a matter of showing that France is there – that is its role – and that he believes in Lebanon,” the presidential palace said. “The visit is also an opportunity to lay down the foundations for a pact for the reconstruction of Lebanon, binding for all, that will limit conflicts, offer immediate aid and open up a long-term perspective.”
French aircraft were among several including from Turkey, Germany, Gulf countries and the World Food Programme to land in Beirut since Tuesday, bringing rescuers, medical supplies and equipment.
Tuesday’s explosion echoed another blast 15 years ago in which the former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri was killed by a car bomb not far from the port. An international court trying four men accused of Hariri’s assassination and killing 21 others with him was supposed to give its long-awaited verdict on Friday.
But the court outside The Hague said it was delaying the announcement “out of respect for the countless victims of the devastating explosion that shook Beirut on 4 August, and the three days of public mourning in Lebanon,” its registry said in a statement.
Play Video
1:37 'It's a catastrophe': Beirut residents and mayor react to deadly blast – video
An unspecified number of port officials have been ordered to be placed under house arrest pending the investigation, which is scheduled to take five days. It will report to the national cabinet, which will refer its findings to the judiciary.
Amnesty International was among the organisations calling for an independent investigation into the circumstances leading up to the explosion.
“Whatever may have caused the explosion, including the possibility of a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely, Amnesty is calling for an international mechanism to be promptly set up to investigate how this happened,” said Julie Verhaar, the group’s acting secretary general.
Q&A What is ammonium nitrate, the chemical blamed for the blast in Beirut?Ammonium nitrate is a common industrial chemical used mainly for fertiliser because it is a good source of nitrogen for plants. It is also one of the main components in mining explosives.
It is not explosive on its own, rather it is an oxidiser, drawing oxygen to a fire – and therefore making it much more intense. However, it ignites only under the right circumstances, and these are difficult to achieve.
While ammonium nitrate can in fact put out a fire, if the chemical itself is contaminated, for example with oil, it becomes highly explosive.
Protests have been planned for central Beirut on Thursday afternoon as residents of the capital seethed at a disaster that appears to have been foreseeable and frequently warned about.
Beirut's ground zero: a rip through the heart of an already dying city
One one shattered balcony, someone hung a thin noose along with the sign, “Whose heads will be hung?” Lebanese social media was trending with the hashtag “Hang up the nooses”, as rage threatened to boil over in the grief-stricken city.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, arrived in Beirut on Thursday morning, the first world leader to visit in the wake of the disaster. His office said he would head straight to the blast site. He is expected to call for international aid to rebuild Beirut but also press for changes to the political system – a major hurdle to receiving billions of dollars of aid to alleviate one of the worst financial crises in modern Lebanese history.
“For the president, it’s a matter of showing that France is there – that is its role – and that he believes in Lebanon,” the presidential palace said. “The visit is also an opportunity to lay down the foundations for a pact for the reconstruction of Lebanon, binding for all, that will limit conflicts, offer immediate aid and open up a long-term perspective.”
French aircraft were among several including from Turkey, Germany, Gulf countries and the World Food Programme to land in Beirut since Tuesday, bringing rescuers, medical supplies and equipment.
Tuesday’s explosion echoed another blast 15 years ago in which the former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri was killed by a car bomb not far from the port. An international court trying four men accused of Hariri’s assassination and killing 21 others with him was supposed to give its long-awaited verdict on Friday.
But the court outside The Hague said it was delaying the announcement “out of respect for the countless victims of the devastating explosion that shook Beirut on 4 August, and the three days of public mourning in Lebanon,” its registry said in a statement.
Play Video
1:37 'It's a catastrophe': Beirut residents and mayor react to deadly blast – video
Play Video
1:03 Before and after: drone footage shows devastation caused by Beirut explosion – video
Play Video
1:57 Beirut bride describes moment explosion hit during wedding photoshoot – video
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