A massive explosion rocked Beirut, Lebanon, with the force of an earthquake followed by a shock wave that caused widespread damage across the capital. At least 60 …
A massive explosion rocked Beirut, Lebanon, with the force of an earthquake followed by a shock wave that caused widespread damage across the capital. At least 60 people were killed and more than 3,000 wounded, according to Health Minister Hassan Hamad. The blast followed a fire that broke out in the city’s port area, based on multiple videos from the scene. Though the cause of the explosion was yet to be officially determined, Abbas Ibrahim, chief of Lebanese General Security, said it might have been caused by highly explosive material that was stored at the port after it was confiscated from a ship. Television channel LBC said the material was sodium nitrate. Mohammed Fahmi, Lebanon’s interior minister, told Al-Jazeera news the blast appeared to have been caused by ammonium nitrate that was stored in a warehouse. Ammonium nitrate, used in chemical fertilizer production, was a component of the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995.
