I remember when that happened. I was in VC with someone from Lebanon and we were all like “wtf was that?” And he said, “I have to go guys, I think there’s been an explosion.” We we’re all shitting our pants until we heard from him later, and then we shit our pants for a different reason when we heard how bad it was.
For those asking about he details: "On 4 August 2020, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut in the capital city of Lebanon exploded, causing at least 218 deaths, 7,000 injuries, and US$15 billion in property damage, as well as leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless. A cargo of 2,750 tonnes of the substance (equivalent to around 1.1 kilotons of TNT) had been stored in a warehouse without proper safety measures for the previous six years after having been confiscated by Lebanese authorities from the abandoned ship MV Rhosus. The explosion was preceded by a fire in the same warehouse." (Source: Wikipedia)
A company had a ship with ammonium nitrate in port at Beirut since 2013 because the company that owned the ship went bankrupt and abandoned the cargo. In 2014 the ammonium nitrate was moved to a warehouse at the port where it was improperly stored, and the ship later sank in 2018.
"Lebanese customs officials had sent letters to judges requesting a resolution to the issue of the confiscated cargo, proposing that the ammonium nitrate be either exported, given to the Lebanese Armed Forces or sold to the private Lebanese Explosives Company.[b][10] Letters had been sent on 27 June and 5 December 2014, 6 May 2015, 20 May and 13 October 2016, and 27 October 2017.[10][32] One of the letters sent in 2016 noted that judges had not replied to previous requests, and pleaded: In view of the serious danger of keeping these goods in the hangar in unsuitable climatic conditions, we reaffirm our request to please request the marine agency to re-export these goods immediately to preserve the safety of the port and those working in it, or to look into agreeing to sell this amount ..." (Source:Wikipedia)
What frustrates me about the corruption is that it would have been easy to take the ammonium nitrate (essentially abandoned), sell it off to farmers, and then just pass some cash to the related officials. Free money and everyone would have been safe.
CactusChan-OwO on August 4th, 2023 at 09:58 UTC »
I remember when that happened. I was in VC with someone from Lebanon and we were all like “wtf was that?” And he said, “I have to go guys, I think there’s been an explosion.” We we’re all shitting our pants until we heard from him later, and then we shit our pants for a different reason when we heard how bad it was.
mojoradio on August 4th, 2023 at 11:07 UTC »
For those asking about he details: "On 4 August 2020, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut in the capital city of Lebanon exploded, causing at least 218 deaths, 7,000 injuries, and US$15 billion in property damage, as well as leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless. A cargo of 2,750 tonnes of the substance (equivalent to around 1.1 kilotons of TNT) had been stored in a warehouse without proper safety measures for the previous six years after having been confiscated by Lebanese authorities from the abandoned ship MV Rhosus. The explosion was preceded by a fire in the same warehouse." (Source: Wikipedia)
A company had a ship with ammonium nitrate in port at Beirut since 2013 because the company that owned the ship went bankrupt and abandoned the cargo. In 2014 the ammonium nitrate was moved to a warehouse at the port where it was improperly stored, and the ship later sank in 2018.
"Lebanese customs officials had sent letters to judges requesting a resolution to the issue of the confiscated cargo, proposing that the ammonium nitrate be either exported, given to the Lebanese Armed Forces or sold to the private Lebanese Explosives Company.[b][10] Letters had been sent on 27 June and 5 December 2014, 6 May 2015, 20 May and 13 October 2016, and 27 October 2017.[10][32] One of the letters sent in 2016 noted that judges had not replied to previous requests, and pleaded: In view of the serious danger of keeping these goods in the hangar in unsuitable climatic conditions, we reaffirm our request to please request the marine agency to re-export these goods immediately to preserve the safety of the port and those working in it, or to look into agreeing to sell this amount ..." (Source:Wikipedia)
pinewind108 on August 4th, 2023 at 11:07 UTC »
What frustrates me about the corruption is that it would have been easy to take the ammonium nitrate (essentially abandoned), sell it off to farmers, and then just pass some cash to the related officials. Free money and everyone would have been safe.