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Ghana also reveals that Monday was the first day off after 5 days of quarantine. By Wednesday, people had to cover their own food needs, household items for the next 15 days, so the street was full.
“And then … there was an explosion,” says the Lebanese.
VIDEO: Beirut was recorded as being rocked by two powerful explosions: thousands of people were injured
“Many people have died, many people are considered missing. Some people have nowhere to stay. People are bleeding. It is so sad. Everyone is shocked like zombies. They try to do something, but they can’t concentrate,” he says.
Everyone is shocked and crushed.
Unable to recover
According to the activist, although people have begun to act, to manage, emotionally they still do not understand what has happened.
“If you asked me something, they would say that we still don’t understand what happened. Nobody noticed. Everyone is trying to get along, helping each other. People donate food, blood. Everyone tries to do everything they can. But everyone is shocked and devastated, ”says the girl.
L. Tubio / 15min photo / Lebanese Nour Ghanem
Ghana says that with the global pandemic and the country’s biggest economic crisis, the explosion is making the situation difficult. However, according to the interlocutor, the Lebanese call themselves phoenixes emerging from the ashes.
“It just came to our attention then. Get up this time too. But the current situation is too much,” he says.
Watch the full conversation with Lebanese N. Ghana on what the streets of Beirut look like after the blast and how the locals deal with the disaster:
VIDEO: 15 minute special from Beirut: “Lack of words to describe this disaster”
What is already known
The explosion killed more than 100 people, another 4,000 more. were injured, BNS reports.
The first major explosion in the Beirut port area occurred around 6 p.m. local (and Lithuanian) time. It started a fire during which several other minor explosions occurred. Soon a huge explosion trembled, razing almost the entire port and surrounding buildings.
Seismologists reported that the power of the blast, which shook the windows of Beirut International Airport buildings 9 km away, was equivalent to a magnitude 3.3 earthquake.
Images released from the videos show a fireball rising much higher than the towers of the surrounding storage facilities, and then a plume of smoke rising into the sky.
Why is the explosion so serious?
Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab said 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate (nitrate) had exploded in the port warehouse.
“This is a disaster in every sense of the word,” said Lebanese Health Minister Hassan Hamad.
Ammonium Nitrate is a granular nitrogen fertilizer that is used for pre-planting fertilization or additional fertilization during vegetation. This odorless chemical has caused many catastrophic explosions in industrial plants.
We have waited six years for this problem to be solved, but to no avail.
The mixture of ammonium nitrate and furnace fuel produces a highly explosive mixture that is widely used in the construction industry. However, it is also used by militant groups such as the Taliban to manufacture improvised explosive devices.
Abbas Ibrahim, head of the Lebanese Security and Intelligence Agency, said that the ammonium nitrate seized a few years ago was stored in the port warehouse, writes BNS.
Intentional explosion?
So far, Lebanese officials have taken the position that the explosion was unintentional.
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday night that he had been told by several US generals that the Beirut bombings took place after a “bomb of some kind” was detonated.
“It’s like a horrible attack,” Trump said.
But a Pentagon spokesman, when asked about these presidential comments, told the AFP news agency: “We have nothing to say to you. An explanation should be sent to the White House. “
The Diab government called the situation in the port before the blast “unacceptable” and promised an in-depth investigation.
Guilty of negligence?
The powerful blast at Beirut port was due to the negligence of its personnel, UK Sky News reported Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the preliminary findings.
The experts concluded that the storage of hazardous materials was negligent. Furthermore, the chemicals are believed to have been stored in the port for several years without the necessary precautions being taken.
The main explosion is believed to have been caused by ammonium nitrate stored in the port. However, experts working at the site found that one of the adjacent hangars initially caught fire. Subsequently, flames, which could not be controlled, also covered the room, which contained almost 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate. A catastrophe occurred after its detonation, writes BNS.
Middle Eastern media reported that Beirut port authorities acknowledged that they understood the cargo stored there to be dangerous, but had no idea of the severity of the threat.
VIDEO: The explosion in Beirut has devastated almost the entire port, vital for a country in economic crisis
“We knew it was a dangerous substance, but we did not know how dangerous it was,” the port authority said.
The port manager also noted that customs and security services had submitted requests to dispose of these explosives or export them.
“We have been waiting six years for this problem to be solved, but we have not achieved any results,” he said.
Various media outlets have also reported that it is not just this material that appears to have exploded: Western experts, for example, believe that pyrotechnics have also caught fire and exploded.
How many victims?
The explosions killed more than 100 people, another 4,000 more. were injured, the Lebanese Red Cross said on Wednesday, providing the latest data on the victims.
Search and rescue teams are still surveying the areas around the port, the Red Cross added.
Lebanese Health Minister Hamad Hassan released the latest casualty statistics on Wednesday. According to him, the death toll has already been 113. Dozens more people are missing.
Reports of casualties were received immediately after an explosion that smashed the windows of buildings in many areas of the capital.
Whats Next?
The Lebanese National Defense Council has declared Beirut a disaster area and Diab has called on Lebanon’s allies to support the country and send aid.
President Michel Aoun has announced that 100 billion will be allocated from the crisis fund to help the victims and the city. Lebanese pounds (55 million euros).
Yet debt-ridden Lebanon is currently grappling with the worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war, and its hospitals were struggling with an influx of patients even before the explosion due to the coronary pandemic.
The United States, France, Qatar, Iran and even a stubborn Lebanese opponent, Israel, have offered help, BNS reports.
In addition, French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Lebanon on Thursday to express his solidarity with the country after the massive explosion that devastated his capital.
Macron’s office told the AP news agency on Wednesday that the French leader would meet with Lebanese political leaders, but did not provide further details.
Lebanon was previously a French protectorate. The two countries still have close political and economic ties.
France is also sending several tons of aid cargo and rescue brigades after the explosion in the port of Beirut, which claimed the lives of at least 100 people and injured thousands more.
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