China News Service, August 5 (Zhang Aolin and Dong Hanyang) On August 4, accompanied by deafening explosions, a huge mushroom cloud mixed with flashes, flames and dense smoke rose, breaking the calm of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. The core area of the explosion was reduced to a piece of scorched earth, leaving deep pits. The incident killed more than 100 people and injured more than 4,000 people. It also made headlines in the global media.
At around 6 pm on August 4, local time, a huge explosion occurred in the port area of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon.
Experts pointed out that the "primal culprit" of the accident-2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, the power generated by the explosion is equivalent to the detonation of 1,650 tons of high explosive (TNT), and the seismic wave caused is equivalent to a magnitude 3.3 earthquake, which is huge.
"An earthquake", "volcanic eruption", "nuclear bomb explosion", witnesses described the shock and fear this explosion brought to human senses. And all of this may be ignited by a small spark from the welding operation at first...
"It's like raining glass in the whole city"
President: Three days of national mourning
The explosion was so powerful that it was said that the explosion could be heard 160 kilometers away. Aerial footage shows that at present, a deep pit has been blown out of the explosion site, surrounded by scorched earth and devastated buildings.
An injured person in the explosion said, "I thought it was a port container on fire. After a few seconds, we were blown up." Another witness at the scene said, "Suddenly, I heard a loud noise, and the whole city of Beirut was raining'broken glass rain.' It was like, I have never experienced anything like this in my life."
On August 5, local time, after a violent explosion occurred in the Beirut port area of Lebanon, the buildings on the scene were severely damaged.
At present, many hospitals in Beirut are overwhelmed. Some of the wounded have to wrap their heads with gauze and receive simple treatment in the hospital corridors. There are even bloody wounded who call helplessly in the ruins...and Due to the power outage caused by the explosion, local rescue work at night was also very difficult.
In addition, the explosion also caused deaths and injuries to citizens of many countries including Australia, the Philippines, and Japan. Among them, the Australian Embassy, which was very close to the explosion site, was seriously damaged, and about 95% of the windows were shattered.
After the explosion, Lebanese President Aoun announced that the whole country would mourn for the victims of this tragedy for three days.
The picture shows that the building affected by the explosion has tilted.
Explosion power greater than 3 earthquake
2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate is the "culprit"
Due to the huge scale of the explosion and the close proximity of the port area to downtown Beirut, the explosion affected nearly half of Beirut's urban area. Many buildings were damaged. Residents nearby even described the explosion as "like an atomic bomb (explosion)."
The data collected by the US Geological Survey also showed that the seismic waves generated by the explosion are equivalent to a magnitude 3.3 earthquake, and the actual power is even greater than a magnitude 3.3 earthquake.
Regarding the cause of the explosion, Lebanese Prime Minister Diab said at the Supreme Defense Council meeting that the explosion was caused by improper storage of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate in the port. The Reuters news agency quoted the Lebanese security department as saying that the initial fire was probably caused by sparks splashed by workers repairing holes in the warehouse and performing welding operations.
The Israeli "Ha’aretz" reported that this batch of ammonium nitrate was seized by Lebanese customs six years ago and has since been stored in a port warehouse. In this regard, Aoun posted on social media that there is no safe storage of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, which is "unacceptable".
At about 6 pm on August 4th local time, a huge explosion occurred in the port area of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, and pink mushroom clouds and thick smoke rose in the sky.
Expert: The scale of the explosion is equivalent to 1,650 tons of TNT
Harmful gas will not stay long, it is incomparable with nuclear explosion
In response to the scale of this rare big explosion, Dr. Wang Yinjun, a senior engineer at the Institute of Explosives and Blasting of Mining and Metallurgical Technology Group Co., Ltd., explained to Chinanews.com that according to theoretical calculations, the explosive power of 1 ton of ammonium nitrate is equivalent to 0.6 tons of high explosives. (TNT), the explosion of 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate is approximately equivalent to the explosive power of 1,650 tons of TNT.
Wang Yinjun analyzed that ammonium nitrate is a strong oxidant, the main raw material of industrial explosives, and the main component of agricultural fertilizers. Its chemical properties are unstable and explosive in itself. Analysis pointed out that this batch of ammonium nitrate is huge and even more dangerous.
Wang Yinjun pointed out that ammonium nitrate has a lower sensitivity than industrial explosives and does not explode under normal circumstances. It can only explode under strong external stimuli.
At the same time, Wang Yinjun also cited another situation. Ammonium nitrate usually decomposes slowly to release heat, but if the released heat is not released in time, it will accumulate and cause the temperature to rise, accelerate the decomposition reaction of ammonium nitrate, and form a malignant cycle. When the temperature reaches the explosive point of ammonium nitrate, an explosive reaction occurs.
After the explosion, the Mayor of Beirut, Mawan Abboud, couldn't help crying in front of the camera in an interview and compared the explosion to a "Hiroshima-Nagasaki-style disaster." Wang Yinjun believes that although the explosion was large in scale, it is not comparable to a nuclear explosion. Ammonium nitrate explosion is a chemical explosion, and will not cause long-term environmental and ecological impacts except for the huge destructive effects caused by the explosion itself.
In this regard, he further explained that because ammonium nitrate itself does not contain toxic and harmful elements, its constituent elements C, N, H, and O are common elements, substances harmful to the human body after the explosion, such as CO, CO2 and NO, NO2, etc. The gas will be blown away by natural wind and will not remain for a long time.
However, Wang Yinjun also pointed out that if the explosion of ammonium nitrate causes the spread of other harmful substances stored nearby, it is another matter.
On August 5, local time, after a violent explosion occurred in the Beirut port area of Lebanon, the buildings on the scene were severely damaged.
The prime minister vowed to "bring to justice" those involved
Survey results need to be patient
Even though the Lebanese National Security Agency had warned the port of Beirut a few months ago that there is a large amount of such a dangerous and unstable substance, ammonium nitrate, why has it not attracted the attention of relevant parties?
In this regard, Li Shaoxian, dean of the Chinese Arab Research Institute of Ningxia University and an expert on Middle East issues, pointed out that “the explosion reflected a serious disorder in Beirut’s port management.”
Regarding whether the explosion was caused by human factors, experts generally believe that the possibility of deliberately creating an explosion is relatively small, and ultimately still need to wait for the official investigation results.
Dong Manyuan, deputy director of the China Institute of International Studies, said that it is currently impossible to speculate on this. As the bombing incident is intertwined with the regional situation and the power of various countries, it takes some patience to wait for the investigation results.
However, after the incident, US President Trump immediately claimed that the large-scale explosion in Beirut "may be an attack." However, this statement was quickly refuted by US officials and contradicted the statement of the Lebanese authorities. In addition, some foreign media speculated that Israel was the "man behind the explosion", but Israel has denied it.
After the explosion, Lebanese Prime Minister Diab vowed to "bring to justice those involved." The Supreme Defense Council of Lebanon also stated that those responsible will face the possible "highest penalty." The prime minister's wife and daughter were also injured in the accident, but the injuries were not serious.
The picture shows the people spontaneously helping the injured.
"Making things worse"
Medical care and economy are under pressure again
Beirut, as the capital and economic center of Lebanon, was severely damaged in the explosion. "The explosion in such a sensitive area will have a certain impact on the economy and social stability, and the Lebanese government will face more problems." Dong Manyuan said.
In recent years, Lebanon’s economic situation has continued to be sluggish, and the employment of the people under the epidemic is not optimistic. The World Bank had predicted that before the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, 45% of Lebanon's people might be below the poverty line in 2020. After the outbreak, the Lebanese government believed that as many as 75% of the people needed assistance.
And this explosion may once again intensify the financial crisis facing Lebanon. For the Lebanese people, thousands of people’s houses were bombed, and the transportation of essential daily necessities in the destroyed ports was also interrupted.
In addition, a warehouse near the explosion port stores Lebanon’s main vaccines and medicines. The hundreds of thousands of medicines in it were supposed to be supplied to medical centers in Lebanon.
This has dealt a huge blow to the hospital system that is already facing severe challenges from the new crown epidemic. "Every floor of the hospital was damaged," said Peter Noon, the head of pediatric hematology and oncology at a local hospital. "I didn't see anything like this even during the war. It was a disaster."
The chairman of the Beirut Nurses Association stated that three hospitals in the city were completely destroyed and two other hospitals were partially destroyed.
In the face of the catastrophe, Prime Minister Diab announced that the government would allocate 100 billion lire in emergency funds. He will also hold an emergency cabinet meeting on August 5 and believe that a two-week national emergency should be declared.
However, Li Shaoxian, an expert on Middle East issues, pointed out that due to the large-scale collapse of local buildings, the number of casualties will certainly continue to increase, and Beirut's hospitals are also facing unprecedented pressure.
After the big bang, Beirut, a star city known as the "Little Paris in the Middle East," was overshadowed, and Lebanon was bound to endure the "worse" test. However, at present, China, Russia and many other countries have expressed their willingness to help, and the international community will join hands to help Lebanon through this disaster as soon as possible. (Finish)