On the evening of 4 August 2020, at 18:08 EEST, an extremely powerful explosion occurred in the city of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. The blast, which occurred after a fire at the Port of Beirut, left at least 135+ people dead with a sure possibility of increasing, 80 more missing, and more than 5,000 injured. Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud estimated that up to 300,000 people were left homeless by the explosions.
The main explosion was linked to about 2,750 tonnes (3,030 short tons) of ammonium nitrate equivalent to 1.1 kilotons of TNT (4.6 TJ) that had been confiscated by the government from an abandoned ship and stored in the port without proper safety measures for six years. Despite inefficient transmission of the shock waves into the ground, the explosion was detected as a seismic event of magnitude 3.3 by the United States Geological Survey. By the following day, 5 August, the fire was largely extinguished.
 Aftermath of the explosion | |
| Date | 4 August 2020 |
|---|---|
| Time | 18:08:18 EEST (15:08:18 UTC) (second explosion) |
| Venue | Port of Beirut |
| Location | Beirut, Lebanon |
| Coordinates | 33.901°N 35.519°E |
| Type | Ammonium nitrate disaster |
| Deaths | 137+ |
| Non-fatal injuries | 5,000+ |
| Missing | 80+ |
| Property damage | $10–15 billion |
| Displaced | Up to 300,000 |
Background
The economy of Lebanon was in a state of crisis before the explosions, with the government having defaulted on debt, the Lebanese pound plunging and a poverty rate that had risen past 50%. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic had overwhelmed many of the country's hospitals, several of which already were short of medical supplies and unable to pay staff due to the financial crisis. The morning before the explosion, the head of the Rafik Hariri University Hospital, which served as the main coronavirus medical facility in Lebanon, warned that it was approaching full capacity.
The government-owned Port of Beirut serves as the main maritime entry point into Lebanon and a vital piece of infrastructure to import scarce goods. The port included 4 basins, 16 quays, 12 warehouses, and a grain silo that served as a strategic reserve of wheat for the country. The Beirut Naval Base is a part of the port.
MV Rhosus
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On 23 September 2013, the Russian-owned Moldovan-flagged cargo ship MV Rhosus set sail from Batumi, Georgia, to Beira, Mozambique, carrying 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate. In October, it was forced to port in Beirut with engine problems. After inspection by port state control, the Rhosus was found unseaworthy, and it was forbidden to set sail. Eight Ukrainians and one Russian were aboard,[a] and with the help of a Ukrainian consul, five Ukrainians were repatriated, leaving four crew members to take care of the ship.[b]
The owner of the Rhosus, the Cyprus-based Russian businessman Igor Grechushkin, went bankrupt,[c] and after the charterers lost interest in the cargo, the owner abandoned the ship. The Rhosus then quickly ran out of provisions, while the crew were unable to disembark due to immigration restrictions. Creditors also obtained three arrest warrants[d] against the ship. Lawyers argued for the crew's repatriation on compassionate grounds, due to the danger posed by the cargo still aboard the ship, and an Urgent Matters judge in Beirut allowed them to return home after having been stuck aboard the ship for about a year. By order of the judge, the dangerous cargo was brought ashore in 2014 and placed in Hangar 12 at the port, where it remained for the next six years.
Various customs officials had sent letters to judges requesting a resolution to the issue of the confiscated cargo, proposing that the ammonium nitrate either be exported, given to the Lebanese army, or sold to the private Lebanese Explosives Company.[e] Letters had been sent on 27 June and 5 December 2014, 6 May 2015, 20 May and 13 October 2016, and 27 October 2017. One of the letters sent in 2016 noted that judges had not replied to previous requests, and "pleaded":
Explosions
On the afternoon of 4 August 2020, a team of 10 firefighters were dispatched to extinguish a warehouse fire at the Port of Beirut. A first, smaller, explosion sent a cloud of smoke above the fires and created flashes of light that were caused by a stash of fireworks stored in the warehouse. The second explosion was much more substantial and occurred at about 18:08 local time UTC+03:00. It rocked central Beirut and sent a red-orange cloud into the air, briefly surrounded by a white condensation cloud. The second blast was felt in northern Israel and in Cyprus, 240 kilometres (150 miles) away.
The United States Geological Survey measured the blast as a 3.3 local magnitude earthquake, while the Jordan Seismological Observatory reported that it was equivalent to a 4.5 local magnitude earthquake.
The Beirut explosion was similar to explosions of large amounts of ammonium nitrate in Tianjin, China in 2015, in the city of West, Texas in 2013, and in Texas City, Texas in 1947.
Cause
The cause of the explosions was not immediately determined, although state media initially reported them taking place at a fireworks warehouse, while others placed them at an oil storage or chemical storage facility.
There were warehouses in the port that stored explosives and chemicals including nitrates, common components of fertilizers and explosives. The Director General of Public Security stated the explosion was caused by the ammonium nitrate that was confiscated from the Rhosus. LCBI stated that, according to attendees of a Higher Defence Council briefing, the fire was ignited by workers welding a door at the warehouse.[f]
Casualties
Following the explosions, at least 135 people were confirmed dead, 80 missing and more than 5,000 were injured.[g]
Nazar Najarian, the secretary-general of the Kataeb Party, died after suffering severe head injuries during the blast, and Kamal Hayek, chairman of the state-owned electricity company, was in critical condition. The Kazakhstani consul was wounded in his office.
At least 4 Bangladeshis have been killed and around 100 others, including 21 Bangladesh Navy sailors on the Corvette BNS Bijoy, which participated in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, have been injured in the explosions.
Damage
The explosion overturned cars and stripped steel-framed buildings of their cladding. Within the port area, the explosion destroyed a section of shoreline and left a crater nearly 120 metres (390 ft) in diameter. Witnesses said that homes as far as 10 kilometres (6 miles) away were damaged by the blast, and up to 300,000 people were left homeless by the explosions. The grain elevator, the city's second-largest, was destroyed, exacerbating food shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and a severe financial crisis. About 15,000 tonnes of grain were destroyed, leaving the country with less than a month's worth of grain in reserve.
The damage extended over half of Beirut, with the likely cost above $10 billion; 90% of hotels in the city were damaged and three hospitals completely destroyed, while two more suffered damage. Dozens of injured people brought to nearby hospitals could not be admitted because of the damage to the hospitals.
Saint George Hospital is one of the city’s largest medical facilites. Located less than 1 kilometre (5⁄8 mile) from the explosion, it was forced to treat patients in the street, due to severe damage to the medical facility. Several child cancer patients were injured by flying glass, and a number of staff killed. Within hours, it had discharged all its patients, some to other hospitals, and closed. The hospital's director of intensive care, Dr. Joseph Haddad, was quoted as saying:
Health care workers have stated that Lebanon's main vaccine and medication stockpile is stored in the port-area Karantina warehouse. They are concerned, because other structures in this area received heavy damage. Health centers throughout Lebanon rely on the "hundreds of thousands" of doses stored in the warehouse.
Embassies in and around Beirut reported varying degrees of damage to their buildings. The embassies of Argentina, Australia, Finland, and Cyprus, which were located in close proximity to the blast, sustained heavy damage.The South Korean embassy, located 7.3 kilometres (41⁄2 miles) from the blast site, reported minor damage to two windows within the embassy building; the Kazakh, Russian, Romanian, and Turkish embassies also reported minor damage.
Shipping
The cruise ship Orient Queen, owned by Abou Merhi Cruises and berthed nearby, suffered extensive damage. Two members of the crew were killed, and several on board were injured. The ship capsized overnight.
The Bangladesh Navy corvette BNS Bijoy, which participated in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, was also damaged. The ship was very close to the site of the explosion.
The livestock carrier Jouri was close to the site of the explosion; her AIS stopped broadcasting at the time of the explosion.
The cargo ship Mero Star was severely damaged. The cargo ship Raouf H was closest to the site of the explosion.
Arrests
Lebanese authorities have placed Beirut port officials responsible for storage and security under house arrest, overseen by the army, pending an investigation into the explosions.
Relief operations
The Lebanese Red Cross said that every available ambulance from North Lebanon, Bekaa, and South Lebanon was being dispatched to Beirut to help patients. According to the agency, a total of 75 ambulances and 375 medics were activated in response to the explosions. Lebanese President Michel Aoun said that the government would make up to 100 billion pounds (US$66 million) in aid available to support recovery operations. The ride-sharing app Careem offered free rides to and from hospitals and blood donation centers to anyone willing to donate blood. Volunteers removed debris while local business owners offered to repair damaged buildings for free in the absence of a state-sponsored cleanup operation.
Health Minister Hamad Hasan[h] requested that international aid be sent to Lebanon; several countries responded to that request.[i]
Reactions
Domestic
Hassan Diab, the Prime Minister of Lebanon, announced that 5 August 2020, the day after the explosions, would be a national day of mourning. President Aoun stated that the government would provide support to displaced people, and the Ministry of Health would meet the expense of treatment for the wounded. Marwan Abboud, the governor of Beirut, stated that he arrived at the scene to search for firefighters who were on the site attempting to control the fire that was raging prior to the second explosion. He broke down in tears on television, calling the event "a national catastrophe". On the day of the explosion, Hezbollah offered "deepest condolences over the national tragedy" and stated that the crisis required "a national stand by all Lebanese people". Mohammad Raad, who heads Hezbollah in the Lebanese Parliament, also called for "positive cooperation" in order to ascertain the reasons for the disaster and to ensure justice. The group also launched a blood donation campaign on 5 August.
International
Representatives of multiple countries, and the UN, offered condolences. In addition to those countries which provided aid, others have offered to do so.[j] Notably, Israel offered aid via United Nations channels, in what Al Jazeera English described as an "unusual move" given that Israel and Lebanon have no diplomatic ties and are technically at war. Despite years of Israeli–Lebanese conflict, including the 2006 Lebanon War, both Israel and senior Hezbollah officials ruled out Israeli involvement in the explosion, a claim spread via social media.
Several countries expressed solidarity by lighting up landmarks and monuments in the colors of the Lebanese flag, including the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the Azadi Tower in Tehran, the Great Pyramids of Giza, and the city hall of Tel Aviv, Israel. Some figures from the Israeli right wing criticized the display of the flag of Lebanon, an "enemy state", in Tel Aviv. Former Israeli Member of parliament, Moshe Feiglin hailed the blast as a “gift” from God in time for the Jewish festival Tu B'Av.
See also
- Largest artificial non-nuclear explosions
- List of 21st-century explosions
- List of industrial disasters
- Ammonium nitrate disasters
Notes
- One source stated that the crew consisted of eight Ukrainians and two Russians.
- One source stated that four crew members remained, while another stated that a "Master and four crew members" were left behind.
- The captain wrote that Grechushkin had told him that he had gone bankrupt, but noted that he did not believe Grechushkin, and did not consider that important, as what was relevant was that Grechushkin had abandoned the crew, the cargo, and the ship.
- A ship may be "arrested" and detained in port by a court order in support of a maritime lien claim by creditors against the vessel.
- Ammonium nitrate has a long history of industrial disasters globally, and thus has been gradually phased out due to concerns for misuse and safety.
- It was initially reported that a security source stated that the initial fire was caused during welding work on a hole in a warehouse.
- Among the dead were an Australian,fou r Bangladeshi, one Belgian, two Filipino, one Egyptian, one Pakistani, and one Greek nationals. Among the injured there are six Filipino, five Dutch, one Indonesian, four Pakistani, six Turkish, two Greek and one Moroccan nationals, and one Italian soldier. Furthermore, at least 101 Bangladeshi nationals were injured in the blasts, becoming the most affected foreign community. Also, several United Nations naval peacekeepers who were members of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were injured by the blast.
- Hamad Hasan (حمد علي حسن) transliteration per official biography.
- Countries that have sent or formally announced the sending of medical aid include Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Canada, Egypt, France, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Norway, Qatar, Russia, Turkey, the UAE, and Syria, while the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Netherlands and Russia have sent rescue teams.
- Other countries that have offered aid include: Cyprus, Greece, Malaysia, Palestine, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
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