08-11-2020, 10:07 PM
I've been watching as much news as I could get about the blast and about Lebanon today as I was hoping there would be an announcement that XYZ is going to investigate the cause of the explosion, but nothing so far. Apparently for an overseas agency like the UN to do the investigation, they first would have to be invited by the Lebanese Government. And there is no Lebanese Government as the Prime Minister and Cabinet resigned today. So now they have to try and get an Emergency Cabinet in being, but wow, it's complicated as this has to follow a recipe. I.e. so many Christians, so many Muslims, the Prime Minister can't be XYZ etc etc. Also, people are cynical and deserve to be so, as those who are going to be asked to put a Government together may be the ones who are the problem - like they have vested interests through entrenched corruption of decades old that they wish to protect and this may guide the appointments of the Interim Government.
Only bit of news I did hear is that the Prime Minister who resigned today admitted that he had received a report in July of this year about the danger of the ammonium nitrate storage and very critical warning that this may create an explosion that would destroy Beirut. At least he took responsibility for the Government that failed to act on the report.
However, I did manage to find this article in The Guardian that makes good sense - but it's still a theory of cause put together by The Guardian and Bellingcat investigation by working through cell phone videos. It maintains that there must have been also bags of explosives stored in the same silo as the ammonium nitrate. These explosives were also confiscated products - so I guess Silo 12 was a Silo used for confiscated materials and the picture I had in my mind of only the ammonium nitrate was wrong - there must have been lots of other materials stored in it and it had to have been a HUGE storage facility.
A Port Official said that just before the fire started technicians were working on fixing a silo door with an electric drill, and he thought it could have been a spark from the electric drill that could have started the fire with the explosives.
In the meanwhile, when Al Jazeera's reporter was reporting with the harbour in the background, I saw a large shovel engine moving earth around the area of the blast - so was wondering whether if and when someone is finally appointed to do the investigation, what would be left over to investigate. Did they cordon the area off? I haven't seen any protective barriers with police guarding the harbour. Everything is in chaos with protesters milling around.
Only bit of news I did hear is that the Prime Minister who resigned today admitted that he had received a report in July of this year about the danger of the ammonium nitrate storage and very critical warning that this may create an explosion that would destroy Beirut. At least he took responsibility for the Government that failed to act on the report.
However, I did manage to find this article in The Guardian that makes good sense - but it's still a theory of cause put together by The Guardian and Bellingcat investigation by working through cell phone videos. It maintains that there must have been also bags of explosives stored in the same silo as the ammonium nitrate. These explosives were also confiscated products - so I guess Silo 12 was a Silo used for confiscated materials and the picture I had in my mind of only the ammonium nitrate was wrong - there must have been lots of other materials stored in it and it had to have been a HUGE storage facility.
A Port Official said that just before the fire started technicians were working on fixing a silo door with an electric drill, and he thought it could have been a spark from the electric drill that could have started the fire with the explosives.
The Guardian Wrote:The claim that fireworks were being stored in the same warehouse as the ammonium nitrate appears to be confirmed by phone footage, apparently filmed by a port worker from the roof of the grain silos that overlooked the seat of the biggest blast – now a 150-metre-wide crater of seawater.Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/a...-in-hangar
In the brief section of footage posted on social media, a long warehouse – running parallel to the grain silo and separated by a road – is visible, with smoke coming out of the windows on its west side and from the roof.
Geotagging by the investigative website Bellingcat and the Guardian, and comparison of features, strongly suggests that this warehouse is located at the very centre of the devastating blast –locating the initial fire and subsequent explosions in the same area of warehousing.
As the person on the silo roof films the north end of the warehouse from their vantage point, the smoke thickens and then a dozen or so white flashes can be seen occurring in rapid succession inside, triggering thicker red flames that quickly spread southwards before detonating a major explosion in the building within seconds that causes the person filming to duck for cover.
Shehadi said he had spoken to former colleagues at the port who said workers were attempting to fix a gate outside warehouse 12 with an electrical tool ahead of the blast. “This was at 5pm, and after 30 minutes they saw smoke. Firefighters came, and so did state security. Everyone died.”
A video posted to social media depicted firefighters tackling a small blaze in a warehouse that resembled a port building. “It is my belief that this repair work led to this catastrophe,” Shehadi said.
In the meanwhile, when Al Jazeera's reporter was reporting with the harbour in the background, I saw a large shovel engine moving earth around the area of the blast - so was wondering whether if and when someone is finally appointed to do the investigation, what would be left over to investigate. Did they cordon the area off? I haven't seen any protective barriers with police guarding the harbour. Everything is in chaos with protesters milling around.