Beirut death toll rises to at least 100 as blast attributed to 2,750-ton ammonium nitrate stash

Home >> massive explosion rocks Beirut, causing injury and widespread damage

residents of Beirut are in shock and mourn after massive blast in the city's harbor through Lebanese ripped capital, at least 100 killed and more than 4,000 injured, according to emergency services. Hospitals are overwhelmed and some have been damaged too much by the explosion to operate.

The explosion, which blew out windows and destroyed property for miles, was initially attributed to 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in an unsecured warehouse in Beirut's cargo port since 2014.

However, the government subsequently announced an investigation to determine the exact cause of the explosion and "who was responsible" within five days.

The Lebanese cabinet said on Wednesday that all port officials who have monitored storage and surveillance since 2014 will be placed under house arrest, overseen by the Lebanese military, Reuters said, citing ministerial sources.

"I will not rest until we find the person responsible for what happened to hold him accountable and to impose the harshest sentences," Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab said in early Wednesday, adding that it was unacceptable that A volume of the explosive chemical has been in a warehouse for six years without "preventive measures." It was not immediately clear what ignited the volatile material.

Firefighters spray water in a fire after an explosion was heard on August 4, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon.

Mohamed Azakir | Reuters

The chemical is often used as a fertilizer, but is also part of mining explosives in combination with fuel oil and detonated by an explosive charge. It was used in the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people. Only 2 tons were used in that bombing. 

Ammonium nitrate can also burn in intense fire, which seemed to be burning in part of Beirut's harbor before the massive explosion.

"It's Apocalyptic" Images from

local media and videos uploaded to social media after the explosion showed bloodied people walking down debris-strewn streets. Medical personnel had to treat patients in parking lots because hospitals exceeded capacity. And countless victims remain missing - Wednesday morning, an Instagram page called "LocateVictimsBeirut", where residents post photos of their missing friends and family, had gathered 63,500 followers.

"I was in the car when we felt the massive explosion, the airbags opened," a Beirut resident told CNBC. "I ran away - it's apocalyptic. There is no other word to describe it. We walk on glass, the whole area of ​​Achrafieh, ”he said, describing one of the oldest residential areas in Beirut.

"Everyone I saw bled out of their heads everywhere, their arms. People are screaming desperately. ... I am still in shock.

"VIDEO3:1603: 16 Explosions in

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Capital

Yumna FawazConnection,a local journalist, the population described as" shocked ". "We have lost our people and our city. My entire apartment has been destroyed, "she said. Another witness described "chaos," saying that many friends had been injured and some were still looking for family members.

Crisis Will 'Accelerate Government Collapse'

The immediate crisis of homelessness, health, overwhelmed medical services, and wrecked property and businesses on top of an already crippled economy will only accelerate government collapse, Eurasia Group analysts said in a note Wednesday morning.

"The credibility of the government is diminishing and large parts of the public no longer believe that the government can handle it," the consultancy wrote. "In our opinion, this accelerates the move towards the collapse of the current government. The economic crisis will also deepen as the port is the main trading valve and the basis for many stored goods awaiting customs clearance.

"Anyrecovery of Lebanon will now" be extremely difficult, "said Rodger Shanahan, a research associate in the Middle East at the Lowy Institute in Australia.

"This is the last thing a country like Lebanon needs right now," Shanahan told CNBC's "Capital Connection" on Wednesday. "Any country would find this difficult, but now that Lebanon is in the midst of the worst financial crisis, it is seen ... and now here's another example of weak governance - it continues to reinforce the opinion of the average Lebanese citizen no government that does well can reign. "

Catastrophe Amid An Already Historic Crisis

The disaster struck a country already in a state of crisis and full of domestic and regional political tensions. Lebanon is facing the worst economic crisis since the civil war of 1975-1990, With skyrocketing inflation and unemployment and a free fall, people's savings in the local currency, the pound, have been wiped out.The World Bank warned in November that half of the country's 6.8 million inhabitants could fall below the poverty line.

And this was all before the coronavirus pandemic hit - now locals are struggling to pay for food and staples, with angry protesters overcoming the passivity of the reject justice and corruption because they were forced to choose between virus infection or hunger. The country has also defaulted on its sovereign debt, and its Lebanese debt of over 150% is the third highest in the world. A shortage of dollars in the country has led to banks limiting withdrawals, which has left people unable to access their money. Talks with the International Monetary Fund about an emergency aid package expired last month.

Smoke rises from an explosion site in Beirut, Lebanon, August 4, 2020.

Issam Abdallah | Reuters

The small Mediterranean country is also home to over 1.5 million Syrian refugees. Endemic state corruption, crumbling infrastructure, frequent power cuts, a pollution crisis, and the government's failure to provide many basic services have sparked nationwide protests that started in October and continue in several iterations.

On Monday, Lebanese Foreign Minister stepped down, criticizing the lack of action and the government's desire to resolve the country's financial problems, making it a "failed state". And the port explosion came when tensions rose for a UN tribunal verdict on Friday of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a truck bombing in 2005.

The four suspects in the trial are all members of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shia paramilitary and political group widely regarded as the most powerful political party in Lebanon. The suspects deny any role in Hariri's death. Hezbollah has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States government.