dufus Posted August 4, 2020 Share Posted August 4, 2020 video This is a developing story... Check back for possible updates... A massive explosion at the port in Beruit, Lebanon sent a shockwave across the city, blowing out windows and sending people scrambling for cover. While casualty figures were not available, the Daily Star reports that "dozens are feared dead" in the wake of the blast. According to state media, the explosion was the result of a fire at a warehouse for fireworks near the port. Video shared to social media shows the blast followed by a shockwave making its way across the city. A video I received on WhatsApp of the scalr of explosion in #Beirut, confirming it was at the port. pic.twitter.com/bIkcyfsi0o — Bissan Fakih (@BissanCampaigns) August 4, 2020 Blast from #Beirut explosion blows out windows in nearby high-rise. #Lebanon pic.twitter.com/RZYEZ2DXRT — Joe Truzman (@Jtruzmah) August 4, 2020 Huge blast in Beirut just now! pic.twitter.com/hId8JhZMKV — Tobias Schneider (@tobiaschneider) August 4, 2020 Just received this video!!! Everyone stay safe. #Beirut pic.twitter.com/2t5a82Ha67 — Zaiنab Hijazi (@zainabhijazi97) August 4, 2020 Fireworks can be seen clearly in this video https://t.co/Z2DMT0JNbs pic.twitter.com/fXZgMbJ0EV — Ali (@allushiii_new) August 4, 2020 "The city is in a state of panic," reported CNN's Ben Wedeman. "The city is in a state of shock." source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.D Posted August 4, 2020 Share Posted August 4, 2020 Possibly the local Katyusha Rocket factory blew itself up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dMog Posted August 4, 2020 Share Posted August 4, 2020 umm, yea, a fireworks factory... yea that's the ticket....😇 QUITE SURE EVERYONE REALLY BELIEVES THAT HEADLINE...😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masterupc Posted August 4, 2020 Share Posted August 4, 2020 I´ve just watched the video (sent by a friend) and that's a huuuuge firework there... How can you have a weapons storage in the city? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mutton Posted August 4, 2020 Share Posted August 4, 2020 Holy crap! I'm a little bit into energetic materials (see my 'interests' )and I've seen (and had first hand accounts of) some pretty nasty explosions from low and high explosives. No way there should be enough material in one location to do that. Either the people running it are proper idiots, or there's more powerful stuff in there than a bit of flash powder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcspixr Posted August 4, 2020 Share Posted August 4, 2020 The explosion was heard something like 150 miles away! (lots dead and 1000's injured apparently). Not sure yet if it was an accident as many reports suggesting or foul play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dMog Posted August 4, 2020 Share Posted August 4, 2020 32 minutes ago, vcspixr said: The explosion was heard something like 150 miles away! (lots dead and 1000's injured apparently). Not sure yet if it was an accident as many reports suggesting or foul play. or most likely very poor management/ storage of war materials...not to mention in a densely populated area EDIT...no way no how was this fireworks in any way shape or form Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mutton Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 Sources (Source) say there was 2700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse there; had been there for six years after being confiscated or something. Now, AN doesn't as a rule detonate, or even explode* on its own. No matter how much you want it to. But, mix it with certain simple things, like diesel fuel, and it becomes a stable but powerful High Explosive (HE) (ANFO - Ammonium Nitrate + Fuel Oil). ANFO is a common HE in commercial work and terrorism. Still, it usually takes another detonation from another HE to make ANFO go bang. Even a blasting cap alone will struggle; a stick of dynamite or block of C4 would be typical to get the ANFO to go. A few big, accidental, AN explosions/detonations have occured in storage warehouses before, but nothing this big I don't think. It is possible that the AN was a bit contaminated with something that facilitated detonation, very compacted/dense after such long storage which also can have that effect due to pressure increase in the centre of reaction, and it did one of those rare transitions from deflagration (rapid burning) to detonation. It looks feasible from the video that it was AN. Although the explosion looked fast, AN is more a 'heave' than a 'shatter' explosive (it's about a third of the detonation speed of C4) and the video looks about right for it. Also the red/brown cloud could be due to nitrogen dioxide from the rest of the AN. Probably not all of the 2700 tonnes actualy detonated. Typically, unless it's prepared as ANFO or similar, the detonating AN would blow away a lot of the undetonated AN around it before it could go off. Fortunately. I was 150 metres from a 1.5 tonne ANFO bomb (yes, really) when it went off some years ago; fortunately around a corner with high buildings. That was an 'experience'. It felt like an earthquake and bits of masonry fell from buildings 100s of metres away. (And no, it wasn't my bomb!) *A detonation is not just an explosion; it is an explosion in which the reaction front moves at over the speed of sound in the material (much faster than speed of sound in air). It's the difference between low explosives (propellants, blackpowder, flash powder, thermite) and high explosives like TNT, nitrocglycerine, C4 (a mix with the explosive RDX) and mercury fulminate. There's a world of difference in the power released by a detonation. Did I mention I have an interest in energetic materials? EDIT to add: This site looks like it confirms what I wrote above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akaneharuka Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 10 hours ago, dMog said: or most likely very poor management/ storage of war materials...not to mention in a densely populated area EDIT...no way no how was this fireworks in any way shape or form Yes, Because if firework can make an explosion like that no one would play them XD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTJB Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dMog Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 3 hours ago, Akaneharuka said: Yes, Because if firework can make an explosion like that no one would play them XD Sources (Source) say there was 2700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse there; had been there for six years after being confiscated or something. So, even if the fire works was the initial cause...WHY in the name of common sense would some idiot store 2700 tonnes of a highly explosive substance in the same building with fireworks in a densely populated area.as tor the explosions seen on video, and seen on ALL news media, that was much much more than JUST fireworks. That building was 2700 tonne bomb waiting to explode, and it did Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dufus Posted August 5, 2020 Author Share Posted August 5, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dufus Posted August 5, 2020 Author Share Posted August 5, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mutton Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 2 hours ago, dMog said: So, even if the fire works was the initial cause...WHY in the name of common sense would some idiot store 2700 tonnes of a highly explosive substance in the same building with fireworks in a densely populated area.as tor the explosions seen on video, and seen on ALL news media, that was much much more than JUST fireworks. That building was 2700 tonne bomb waiting to explode, and it did AN is a very common fertilizer (it's used for that a lot more than it is for bomb making) and not usually seen as an explosive (because it usually isn't). Storing it in huge quantities is not unusual at all even though there have been a few accidental explosions involving it over the years. Given that it had been there for six years, it had possibly been largely forgotten about. Unless you know about the potential dangers with AN (which isn't really common knowledge), you just wouldn't know. This site says a lot about it, confirming what I wrote about it seeming likely it was AN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dufus Posted August 5, 2020 Author Share Posted August 5, 2020 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate was impounded in Beirut's port after it was seized from an abandoned ship in 2014, years before the explosion few interesting factoids ....,. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mutton Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 It's very bad news for Lebanon; looks like they've lost 85% of their grain/wheat reserves. Those big buildings near the site were grain silos. Source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dufus Posted August 5, 2020 Author Share Posted August 5, 2020 Pompeo says US is ready to help, Australia donates $1.4M as international community responds Tripoli port to take over Lebanon cargoes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dufus Posted August 5, 2020 Author Share Posted August 5, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dMog Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 The blame game is beginning in Lebanon, the politicians who were warned for years about this very danger are going full out blaming others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dufus Posted August 5, 2020 Author Share Posted August 5, 2020 Chemical blamed for Beirut explosion under scrutiny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuclear Fallout Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 12 hours ago, dufus said: Pompeo says US is ready to help, Australia donates $1.4M as international community responds Tripoli port to take over Lebanon cargoes Tripoli, largest City of Libya, ANOTHER FAILED STATE! Where does the madness end???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasper Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 On 8/6/2020 at 4:19 AM, Nuclear Fallout said: Tripoli, largest City of Libya, ANOTHER FAILED STATE! Where does the madness end???? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Tripoli_(Lebanon) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasper Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 Czech Usar Team in Action https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1PwQ9b48njqBhBSpXhWSEWoALS1_IcgSQ?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1A5KXKmlccab8dM4Bpfb_o0Q-hztOlLyn?usp=sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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