Beirut Rocked By Huge Explosion, New Video As Death Toll Rises
Downtown Beirut was leveled today by a series of explosions that, at the moment, are being attributed to
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On August 4, 2020, downtown Beirut was leveled by a series of explosions that Lebanese officials are now attributing to 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored next to a Fireworks factory. The fireworks factory caught fire, and then ignited the ammonium nitrate next door. Whether that’s true remains to be seen, President Trump initially says US military officials told him it was an attack.
The current death toll stands at 100 confirmed dead, with over 4,000 injured. It seems extremely likely that the death toll will continue to climb and end up much higher. Hospitals there are now totally overwhelmed and reports say over 300,000 people are left homeless. Businesses, buildings, and residences were totally destroyed. Windows were blown out of buildings as far as 15 miles away.
The initial explosion came from a warehouse located near the port in Beirut. Watch it happen…
New Video From The Beirut Explosion
As time has passed new videos of the devastating explosion have emerged. Here’s the latest footage…
Images Of The Aftermath
New drone footage gives a clear look at the aftermath…
And here’s a before and after of one section of the port, showing the devestation from the Beirut explosion…
And here’s the devastation at ground-level…
Initial Coverage The Beirut Explosion
A large red cloud proceeded the main explosion. Initially officials said it was highly explosive sodium nitrate (now changed to ammonium nitrate) that caused the mushroom cloud-like blast that destroyed everything in its wake.
The nitrate in question was confiscated from a ship, according to reports, over a year ago and placed in a warehouse at the port.
Here’s a still photo showing the explosion clearly in progress…
And here’s a video from closer to the explosion. Tragically the person who filmed this did not survive. Warning, this may be disturbing to some readers…
And another close-up shot, showing debris flying. Again, this may be disturbing to watch…
Ben Wedeman, CNN’s Beirut correspondent quickly responded to the early claim that at first it was fireworks that caused the blast, “If it was fireworks, as some news sources are saying — they are some damn big fireworks,” he said. He also said he “never felt anything like it … [I’ve] been around the block and seen pretty large explosions … and this was bigger.” It was so big that it was felt 150 miles away in Limassol, Cyprus. “We received a number of reports from Cyprus which seem related to this explosion, reporting noise and rattling windows,” the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) tweeted out.
Obviously, the report of the number of casualties will continue to grow. Lebanese Red Cross official Georges Kettaneh has already reported that there are hundreds of causalities and many more wounded. An Associated Press photographer on the scene reported that near the port there were many injured or dead on the streets. Calls immediately went out for blood donations and hospitals prepared for the worst. The explosion was felt miles from the blast as balconies fell, ceilings collapsed, and windows shattered.
Here’s a horrifying video from inside a Beirut hospital dealing with the aftermath. Warning: This video contains blood and grisly images. Not for the faint of heart. Do not watch if you don’t want to see it…
An eyewitness, Bachar Ghattas, described the scene to CNN’s Becky Anderson as something “like an apocalypse.” He told Anderson, “You can see injured people all over the streets in Beirut, glass all over the place, cars are damaged, it is like an apocalypse.” He added, “It is very, very frightening what is happening right now and people are freaking out. The emergency services are overwhelmed. Beirut port is totally destroyed. We don’t have a port.”
Here’s a look at the aftermath as captured by Lebanese people at street level…
Huge sections of the city appear to be still on fire…
To get more help, the Red Cross is asking for North Lebanon, Bekaa, and South Lebanon ambulances to move toward Beirut to provide search and rescue and evacuation of possible patients. Their tweet read, “Beirut Port explosion: all available Lebanese Red Cross ambulances from North Lebanon, Bekaa, and South Lebanon are being dispatched to Beirut to support with rescue and evacuation of patients.”
As more information comes out about the explosions and their gruesome aftermath, we will try to get you updates.
