Lebanon probes blast amid rising anger, calls for change

AP ^ | 8/6/2020 | BASSEM MROUE and SARAH EL DEEB

[McGruff]

Lebanese officials targeted in the investigation of the massive blast that tore through Beirut sought to shift blame for the presence of explosives at the city’s port, and the visiting French president warned Thursday that without serious reforms the country would “continue to sink.”

The blast Tuesday, which appeared to have been caused by an accidental fire that ignited a warehouse full of ammonium nitrate at the city’s port, rippled across the Lebanese capital, killing at least 135 people, injuring more than 5,000 and causing widespread destruction.

[McGruff]

Some interesting info if you read the whole article.

[McGruff]

One example:

The cargo had been stored at the port since it was confiscated from a ship years earlier. Based on the timeline and the size of the cargo, that ship could be the MV Rhosus. The ship was initially seized in Beirut in 2013 when it entered the port due to technical problems, according to lawyers involved in the case. It came from the nation of Georgia, and had been bound for Mozambique...

[McGruff]

The stockpile is believed to have detonated after a fire broke out nearby in what appeared to be a warehouse holding fireworks. Daher, the customs official, said he did not know if there were fireworks near the site.

Another theory is that the fire began when welders were trying to repair a broken gate and a hole in the wall of Hangar 12, where the explosive material was stored..

[Mr. K]

So.. Not ‘fireworks’ after all

[oldasrocks]

Sure I believe that and also believe that a few tons of diesel fuel just happened to accidentally leak into the warehouse.

[Erik Latranyi]

I did not think stored ammonium nitrate would burn and detonate like that unless mixed with an accelerant.

[Clean_Sweep]

It will under the right conditions.

Best example: The 1947 Texas City disaster was an industrial accident that occurred on April 16, 1947, in the Port of Texas City, Texas, at Galveston Bay. It was the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history and one of history’s largest non-nuclear explosions. A mid-morning fire started on board the French-registered vessel SS Grandcamp (docked in the port) and detonated her cargo of about 2,300 tons (about 2,100 metric tons) of ammonium nitrate.

[SunkenCiv]

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[Erik Latranyi]

Amonium Nitrate being used is far different than being stored.

Regardless, something set it off and I do not think a fire is sufficient.