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The country’s authorities say that, contrary to rumors that are spreading extremely fast, the cause of the explosion has nothing to do with nuclear cartridges, reports businessinsider.com.
Even before Lebanese officials said the explosion was caused by huge stocks of ammonium nitrate stored in the port’s warehouses, according to The Guardian, nuclear weapons experts immediately and very emphatically rejected any accusation that a bomb nuclear could have exploded in Beirut.
The explanations of the experts are also supported by the images, which were successfully prepared for the local population – it captured a huge explosion.
Onlookers directed the cameras towards the port of Beirut not only for themselves: at first, alarming smoke began to rise. Some recordings show small flashes of light and sounds reminiscent of fireworks, and after a few moments they are destroyed by a powerful explosion accompanied by a blast wave highly visible to the naked eye and a column of smoke that resembles a mushroom.
The explosion caused very severe damage to the surrounding buildings, hitting the former further from the epicenter.
Deeply shocked by the images of the massive explosion in Beirut, Lebanon.
Thoughts and prayers with the people of Lebanon. #Beirut pic.twitter.com/hxba5Fye0W
– Kamal Mittal (@Kamal_Nsui) August 5, 2020
In a Twitter post that was shared and praised by thousands before it was deleted, one internet user wrote: “OMG. The Lebanese media reports that there was a fireworks factory here. Oh no. It was a mushroom-shaped column of smoke. It’s an atomic explosion. “
This post was later removed, but has already been shared by thousands of Internet users.
Vipin Narang, who studies nuclear disarmament and its strategies at the University of Massachusetts, denied the following statements: “My specialization is nuclear weapons studies. And it wasn’t a nuclear weapon. “
This is a video I received from another angle – the person who recorded it is fine.
Remember; many people usually run or walk along the Beirut waterfront (close to the blast).
Many people thought they were just documenting a large fire in the seaport. #Lebanon #beirutblast pic.twitter.com/CpuUgKAvLV
– Luna Safwan – لونا صفوان (@LunaSafwan) August 4, 2020
Martin Pfeiffer, a University of New Mexico doctoral student studying the history of nuclear weapons and mankind, also rejected claims on social media that the explosion was caused by a nuclear bomb: “Obviously, the nature of the explosion is not nuclear. There was only one fire that detonated explosives or chemicals. “
this is beyond horrible, literally straight out of a movie. I wish my condolences and prayers for #Beirut pic.twitter.com/CwVl4o1GtU
– mandyy (@mandywagnerrr) August 5, 2020
Pfeiffer argues that the blast lacks two elements of a nuclear blast: a “dazzling flash of white light” and a large amount of heat released to ignite surrounding areas.
Experts admit that the explosion triggered a very powerful blast wave, shattering the windows of buildings almost throughout the city, and briefly in the sky a cloud of smoke could be seen spreading in the shape of a mushroom (this is the vision of the people associated with nuclear bombs in the first place).
However, Pfeiffer emphasizes that such blast clouds, even better known to weapons experts as “Wilson clouds” composed of moist compressed air, force water to condense. In other words, this phenomenon is not an exclusive feature of nuclear bomb explosions.
For the sake of clarity, Narang’s online estimates indicate that the explosive power was equivalent to about 240 tons of trotyle, about 10 times the power that could be released by the US military’s “mother of all bombs” or MOAB.
In comparison, the bomb “Bomba” dropped by the United States on Hiroshima in 1945 was about a thousand times more powerful.
To dispel charges of a possible nuclear explosion in Beirut once and for all, Pfeiffer volunteered to watch a video showing the detonation of a missile-propelled Davy Crockett nuclear weapon with an explosive capacity equivalent to about 20 tons of trotile.
Davy Crockett’s power was equivalent to about one-tenth of the Beirut blast, but there was no flash of light typical of a nuclear blast during the Beirut blast. There are also no reports of increased radiation levels in the areas after the blast, which could be recorded immediately.
Of course, considering whether such a powerful explosion in a city with such a large population was sometimes not a terrorist act is quite rational. In fact, it is one of 15 tragedy scenarios that have been simulated or planned by US government officials (in great detail, with copies of plans shared with local government as well).
Fortunately, the explosion in Beirut was certainly not a nuclear explosion, claims businessinsider.com, a nuclear charge exploded in the Lebanese capital.
Tony May, a former explosives investigator for the US Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, told CNN that video footage of the explosion in Beirut provides a lot of valuable information about what happened.
“We have had to investigate many incidents with the country’s authorities, both at the state and international level. I have no doubt that it was a large fire with explosives or explosive materials stored in the building, which ultimately caused a powerful explosion, ”says May, who currently works as a security and explosives consultant.
According to T. May, while working in Baghdad, the main distinguishing feature of ammonium nitrate explosives was a cloud of yellow smoke. The pink or red cloud that could be seen in Beirut, according to the expert, “is not characteristic of ammonium nitrate.”
Mr May states that this does not necessarily mean that ammonium nitrate has nothing to do with the Beirut disaster. It could simply mean an “explosion of other substances”.
As for the flashes of white light that can be seen in the video, they can tell you that there were some smaller ones before the Big Bang, says T. May.
More than 100 people died and thousands were injured
The Lebanese capital was rocked by a powerful explosion on Tuesday, wiping out almost the entire port and destroying many buildings. More than 100 people died during it, more than 4 thousand more. They were injured and many bodies were buried under the rubble, the Lebanese Red Cross and officials said.
“So far, more than 4,000 people have been injured and more than 100 people have lost their lives.” Our teams are still conducting search and rescue operations in the surrounding areas, “the Red Cross said in a statement.
When a huge ball of orange flames exploded, a thick mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke hovered over the area.
It is not clear what caused the explosion, the power of which corresponded to an impact from a 3.5 magnitude earthquake, according to the German Center for Geophysical Research GFZ. His voice was even heard in the Cypriot capital, Nicosia, 240 km from Beirut.
The Lebanese Interior Minister reported that a large amount of ammonium nitrate appears to have exploded in the port.
The scale of the devastation has taken the country by surprise, which is struggling with both the coronavirus pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.
A few hours after the explosion, the most devastating in Lebanon’s turbulent history, ambulances continued to arrive at the disaster site from all over the city, transporting the injured to hospitals. Hospitals became crowded very quickly. They asked for supplies of blood and a mobile electricity generator.
In the areas around the port, bloodied residents roared through the rubble-strewn streets, which saw many broken cars. The shock wave destroyed buildings and smashed their windows and doors for a few kilometers. The city’s only international airport was also affected.
Army helicopters helped put out a large fire in the port area.
Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi told local television that the port appears to have exploited more than 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in the port warehouse since 2014, when it was seized from a single cargo ship.
Witnesses reported seeing a cloud of orange smoke. Such a cloud is usually visible when the nitrate explosion releases toxic nitrogen dioxide.
The videos show that a fire broke out nearby just before the explosion. Local television reported that it originated from a fireworks warehouse. The fire seemed to spread to a nearby building and then a more powerful and dazzling explosion was heard, after which a mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke rose into the sky.
The explosion erupted amid tensions between Israel and the Shiite Hezbollah paramilitary movement on the southern border of Lebanon. Many residents reported hearing the roar of airplanes before the explosion. This sparked rumors that an attack might have occurred, despite the normal Israeli military aviation flights over Lebanon.
An Israeli government official said that the Jewish state “has nothing to do” with the explosion. He spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to provide information to the media. Israeli officials generally do not comment on “foreign reports.” The Jewish government offered emergency aid to Lebanon through international mediators.
US President Donald Trump has said Washington is “ready to help Lebanon” and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has expressed his “deepest condolences.”
“Our team in Beirut has informed me of the tremendous damage to the city and to the people who are dear to me. This is an additional challenge even in a deep crisis, “Pompeo said in a written statement.
Lebanese Health Minister Hassan Hamad said hospitals were struggling to cope with the influx of wounded, adding that Arab countries and Lebanese friends were offering help.
Marwan Abboud, the head of Beirut’s great adventure, couldn’t hold back his tears when he saw with his own eyes the extent of the devastation.
“Beirut is a devastated city,” he shouted.
Prime Minister Hassan Diab has promised that “the culprits will pay for it.”
At a press conference at the White House on the coronavirus pandemic, Trump said the explosion in Lebanon was “like a horrible attack.”
When asked by one of the reporters if he was sure it was an attack, Trump replied: “I’ve met some of our great generals and they seem to think so.”
At the time, three Defense Department officials told CNN that “there was no indication that the powerful explosions that rocked Beirut were an attack until Tuesday night.”
Pentagon officials said they “don’t know what the president is talking about,” CNN said.
Reporters from the AP news agency reported from the scene that injured people were seen lying on the ground in the port. A civil security official said there were still bodies in the port area, many of them under the rubble.
Several Beirut hospitals were damaged during the blast. In St. People from various injuries gathered at George’s University Hospital, some of them on foot, some in their own cars. Here, the injured were also transported by ambulance. The interior of the hospital was severely damaged and power was lost during the explosion. Doctors assisted the victims at the end of the street, placing them on stretchers or in wheelchairs.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has reported that one of its ships has suffered damage in the port, as well as some blue helmets, some of them seriously.
The explosion, which revived memories of the massive bombings that rocked Lebanon during the Civil War, shook the UN-backed court in preparation for a verdict on the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
Billionaire R. Hariri was killed when a suicide bomber detonated a truck with a ton of explosives as the former prime minister’s tuple passed. That explosion, like Tuesday, was felt many miles away.
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter that his country is sending aid to Lebanon.
Iran has also said it is willing to help, according to Hezbollah.
“In Lebanon, stay strong,” Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Shiite republic’s foreign minister, wrote on Twitter.
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