AS a fireman I can tell you what happened to those poor souls. With an explosion like that which I liken to a nuclear bomb or a volcanic eruption they would have been vaporized. Happily if you can call it that they never saw it coming and never knew it hit. May they rest in peace and may their families rest in knowing they were doing what they loved to do
@@dw4940 it was about as strong as a very week NUKE! Some experts say it was about 1/5 of what was dropped in ww2... Just imagine if it was 1 mile in the city and went off...!!
@@arnie977 Yes that was my point. This was less than a 3kt explosion. I have read experts say it was between .2ktons up to 1ktons. If the building was not there to act as a blast shield it would have caused much more damage. Also it looks like alot of the explosion was directed down and to the sea... It could have been much worse!... I also think this was an inside job and the fireworks were there to do just this..Fireworks Burn Very HOT!! I am now worried that there will be groups filling old ships with this stuff and setting them on fire in ports doing the same type of damage.
Lack of action caused this tragedy. For 6 years chemicals were stored. People wrote many letters of concern, but nothing was done. This should never have happened.
@@livinginbidenstan3251 letters I'm sure that were never opened, it's Beirut, the wild west of the Middle East! Lazy bureaucrats corruption, terrorists, collapsing economy etc. 562 tons one a lot less than the 2,754 tonnes that warehouse was supposed to contain. It's a good thing for Beirut, but who and how is the missing 2,754 tonnes going to be used? 562 tons one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded. Made me think back to 1995 and the damage Timothy McVeigh caused in Oklahoma with 4,800lbs ammonium nitrate-fuel oil bomb.
@@adrosjp true, but it can take place in the past (like watching a movie and predecting something that might happen, even though someone else might already have that information). Or theoretical "if" scenarios
@@adrosjp not really. You could make predictions on how events were unfolding long after they happened and then confirm or disprove them as more information become available. For instance, ammonium nitrate was one of my first suspects after I saw the blast as such explosions happened before, and it's hard to imagine that amount and density of any other type of explosive materials being held in civilian port. An educated guess is a form of a prediction.
laierr in that case you’re still trying to predict information that will be uncovered/released in the future based on speculation. Prediction pertains to future events.
Imagine living in Beirut for six whole years. Going to work, to movies, restaurants, enjoy the beach. Meanwhile there is a kiloton bomb ready to explode anytime.
If you live in the United States... These a good chance there's a bomb in your city right now with a yield over a kiloton (more likely in the megaton range). Okay, so its not in the form of poorly stored fertiliser... But poorly stored explosives in a city are bad...whatever they are supposed to be for.
@@Anon-xd3cf Nuclear missile silos tend to be in unpopulated (and often undisclosed) areas, if that's what you're talking about. They do so not only for safety, but so that nuclear attacks by an enemy on major cities wouldn't take out the silos.
2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate equals the equivalent of a 2.75 kiloton explosion! That’s the power of a ‘small’ tactical nuke! (except no radiative fallout)
As a person that used Ammonium Nitrate (ANFO ammonium nitrate and fuel oil) in the mining industry as an explosive. Knowing that it will only burn if it is lit on fire, it takes a heat and pressure to set it off. As seen in the video the first explosion is relatively minor but it was enough pressure and with the heat of the fire it spelled disaster. We had a saying, "The harder you kick ANFO the better it works". Storing that much in one area is crazy.
@@TheVijimz Lack of transparency between the safety regulators, government and port authorities. That might have caused some information to gone missing about the whereabouts of these chemicals. And when one of the parties become negligent about this stuff then it can be bad news. Nobody really knew about these chemicals, or maybe a few people did and or some might have forgotten resulting in those poor firefighters to go in completely unaware of what they were actually dealing with.
@@TheVijimz I don't know how DW managed to become a news channel with such poor quality of news!! Ammonium nitrate stockpile wasn't even belong to Lebanon rather a Russian businessman that after some engine problems in his cargo ship they ditched it's cargo in Lebanon 6 years ago which is why ammonium nitrate stockpile was still in the port, more accurately in CUSTOMS and it wasn't even legally entered Lebanon yet!! This doesn't change the fact that the stockpile should had been removed or not accepted into Lebanese customs at first place but you know politics and Russian way of handling things so it was accepted one way and another!! So there is much bigger problem than just ''poor regulations'' here and it is this huge Russian influence in Mediterranean like never before but ofc Europe is turning a blind eye as usual. Or even worse like France supporting a Russian puppet, warlord aka ''strongman'' haftar in Libya!! Europe became a total joke in every way...
@@jonnyjackson6050 Could you please explain why you care even slightly if i get over it or not?? You should argue about actual subjects instead of wasting time for such absolute nonsenses...
@Allen Jinu all those catastrophes wasn't world wide though. We'll see more catastrophes because we're at the end of *An Age* If you've studied astrology, you would know this. That's what our ancestors even predicted. Mayans said that in 2012 there would be a *great change*. Guess what? Its *Not 2020* but actually *2012* because The Ethiopian calendar is correct and the calendar we use, which comes from the Greeks, is wrong 👀
F-zero91maru the world will get worst and worst it’s not gonna get better. Trust me. This is all in the Bible. Jesus is coming soon repent and turn to him. He is very real
Very good explanation from the chemist. I once found a pallet of ammonium perchlorate once on a city street by itself. It’s much worse and I called local officials twice and couldn’t get someone to understand how dangerous that was. It was gone a couple of days later.
I live no where near this country, but I feel incredibly horrible for everyone who passed and were injured in the explosion. I feel utterly horrible for the people who have lost their loved ones. :(
It HAS happened in the US before: An entire ship loaded with it blew up in a South Texas port. Many years ago. Essentially wiped the whole place off the map, and killed scores. It STILL gets used as an example in firefighter training.
SEW IT WITH BRIT from Dave: Maybe a new search category: Bureaucrats and Disasters? Can’t wait to see how many bodies will be stacked up from that search....
There is a dedicated wikipedia article only about the long list of ammonium nitrate disasters: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonium_nitrate_disaster You'd think people by now should know to not store thousands of tons of this stuff next to a major city. Very heartbreaking what happened in Beirut, I feel so sorry for these people :(
It is heartbreaking. Shouldn't have happened. But we live in a system where people care more about money than people's lives They make all these chemicals and then are neglegent like 8 year olds.
Yes, I had no idea, this was still possible. I had a hobby-farm 20 years ago, and we were restricted from even buying it.. Seemed to be good controls then, at least in the US. Years before that I recall a large fire. Many firefighters responded. I don't recall if they actually knew that ammonium nitrate was present, but they attempted to put out the fire,, when the nitrate blew, some were decapitated.
People haven't really noticed the two distinct waves that hit. One - the land wave. A 3.5M EQ Jolt in the footage traveling 3000+mph from the landfill blast crater. Two - the airborne shockwave called a shock egg expanding at 761mph+. If you know the speed of each, you can figure out how far from ground zero the footage was. Just like with lightning.
There's pretty interesting footage from a wedding where first the ground shakes and people look around concerned and then a moment later all the windows blow out and everyone runs away screaming.
People are awful when it comes to physics, and even worse with recognizing applications. If you remember one thing, if you're hanging around and the ground shakes hard, the most important thing you'll do in your life is get out of the way of flying glass and debris RIGHT NOW. DROP. RIGHT NOW.
They were repairing the building, welding damaged steel door frames that had been hit by a truck when some pallets caught fire. There were fireworks stored in the building next to the pallets and they caught fire. The fireworks are going off in other videos when the explosion happens. Chain of negligence, not moving flammable materials next to wielding, leaving fireworks next to explosives, leaving explosives concentrated in large amounts. No fire extinguishers. The blast could have been stopped anywhere along the chain but no one took the responsibility to do so. Complete complacency. So many "accidents" like this.
you say all that but why would they be welding near Ammonium Nitrate the same { Ammonium Nitrate } that many ppl know always has to be stored in a underground military storage stockpot and why were their fireworks their ? that dose not make sense
The body count is not finished yet People will start claim that any missing person is dead but government cannot add the numbers without waiting for enough time or doing some investigation. This is normal country like any other country everyone have someone looking for them not a war zone were it is hard to know what is really is going on
@@gearoidp Yeah, I can't speak for how the work day looks like in Lebanon, but local time was about 6 PM, which hopefully means most had gone home for the day (though obviously these kinds of locations have night shift workers and such too, but hopefully not in the same quantities).
ibrahim Al-jundi definitely,,, once the dust settles the missing persons count will begin, I notice the building in the residential area blew out from the face of the building facing the explosion to the other side..... it looks like a nuke went off minus the mushroom cloud.
Yep, this video show that it doesnt always matter if you are first to report. But more importantly, is how you report. precise and clear it is DW. Bravo.
We can hear frustration and anger in his voice explaining it. Thing like this won't happen if proper care measure is taken. But with corrupt government, nothing we can do.
I don't know how DW managed to become a news channel with such poor quality of news!! Ammonium nitrate stockpile wasn't even belong to Lebanon rather a Russian businessman that after some engine problems in his cargo ship they ditched it's cargo in Lebanon 6 years ago which is why ammonium nitrate stockpile was still in the port, more accurately in CUSTOMS and it wasn't even legally entered Lebanon yet!! This doesn't change the fact that the stockpile should had been removed or not accepted into Lebanese customs at first place but you know politics and Russian way of handling things so it was accepted one way and another!! So there is much much bigger problem than just ''poor regulations'' here and it is this huge Russian influence in Mediterranean like never before but ofc Europe is turning a blind eye as usual. Or even worse like France supporting a Russian puppet, warlord aka ''strongman'' haftar in Libya!! Europe became a total joke in every way...
Who in their right mind would store fireworks in the same warehouse with Ammonium nitrate? It was a bomb with a fuse attached, all you need is a match!
Remember the name Soleimani from Iran? He and Hezbollah decided this. Lebanon's government knew about this. Israel Prime Minister showed this to the UN in 2018 with photos. The world didn't take notice..
you don't store it anywhere near diesel fuel either. Whe I was kid we used to mix fertilzer and diesel fuel together to blow red gum tree stumps out of the ground.
Firefighters didn't stand a chance! Very sad for the people in Beirut! The nearby storage silos and proximetry to water assuredly magnified the extent of the exposion.
I'm wondering if this fire was set intentionally. This is reminiscent of the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Tx. The fire that triggered the explosion, investigators say it was arson.
We had the same more recently on a lower level in France at Toulouse with AZF. Although a 10th of Libanon, this explosion smashed all its neighborhood... I do agree with the expert : it will happen in the future sadly...😒🦧🦥🐌🙈🙉🙊⏳💣🙅♂️🔥⛑🤕💀🤬
But in Texas City it was stored properly. But the captain wasn't aware that they should just steer the ship out of the harbour and abandon ship instead of trying to fight it with water. They had one hour to do this. So it was just a fire accident which didn't got properly handled. In Libanon it was 6 years of neglected any safety of storage which lead to this explosion. It wasn't an accident, it was manslaughter.
The one in West, Texas was a whole lot smaller blast, but it was still enough to break the windows in my garage door about forty miles to the north. And it was LOUD, even that far away.
The cruise ship "Orient Queen" smashed into the pier which caused extensive damage, but it did not capsize until the next day. There is a photo of the owner standing next to the ship right after the explosion. "When Abou Merhi and her team returned to the port the next day, they found water flowing into the ship's engine. And they could only stand by and watch as the 120-metre ship sank"
The ammonium nitrate was on a transport ship from Russia, on it’s way to Africa. Underway, there were complications and they had to stop the ship in Beirut, where it was going to be temporarily stored, until it was clear to send. This was in 2014. A whole city was destroyed because some people didn’t take responsibility and just let the cargo sit there for 6 years.
@deee 327 I didn’t jump to any conclusion, but you must admit the *TIMING* fitting perfectly with sanctions on Lebanon & Syria. If the only open port in Yemen is suddenly destroyed... well it could be an “accident”, or not.
I wonder if this fire was set intentionally. This is reminiscent of the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Tx. The fire that triggered the explosion, investigators say it was arson.
This reminds me, October 23 1983, when 241 U. S marines, 58 French paratroopers and 6 civilians where killed by suicide bombers in Beirut in a single day. It was estimated that the equivalent of explosive detonated by bombers is approximately 9,500 kg tnt.
A large tonnage of fireworks were stored in the same warehouse, no chemical warning signs on exterior, no sprinkler system inside, no security guards, fireman could not access the interior.. On site neglect, photographs show spillage from the sacks of nitrate, etc.. Expert said "if you ever see such a fire connected to this nitrate then run for your lives as you you will not stop the fire".. R.I.P..
Ammonium nitrate has a shelf life of 6 months. The media is saying that it was stored there for 4+ YEARS. THE AMMONIUM NITRATE STORY IS A LIE!!! ISRAEL DID THIS!!!
This happens again and again in history. In Tessenderlo, Belgium, there was an accident in 1942 with only 150 tons of ammonium nitrate, but since it was located near the center of the city there were 189 dead.
The cloud is the Wilson Effect, and unknown to most people it DOES INDEED form BEHIND the big pressure wave. When you see that cloud that is only the condensation of humidity in the vacuum behind the pressure wave. If something standing and watching thinks he can watch that cloud and then duck is going to get hit by the pressure wave way before that cloud would reach him!!
As a video gamer, I've seen the effects of destructive weapons upon terrain, especially in Command & Conquer. But *THIS?* The "before" and "after" shots put my past experiences to shame. Nothing left of the building but a water-filled crater, and the surrounding buildings took a lot of damage, too. Scary stuff. My prayers go out to the people of Lebanon. Surviving might be a tricky thing right now, especially since the explosion destroyed a large supply of grain.
@@cambamslam3510 Well, if you've played any games that involve nuclear explosions of some kind, you kind of underestimate the damage caused by them. It's different when you see the actual real life devastation caused by something similar, like the Beirut blast, for instance.
Condolences to Surviving Family Members and Wishing a Quick and Complete Recovery to the injured............. Can't help but wonder why they Seized it in the First Place; and why they Refused to permit the cargo to be transferred to another Vessel. ✌
The boat was going to Africa when the boat had some violation they could not get a hold of it’s owners the crazy thing is why keep it for 6 years after knowing what it contained they got greedy for money!
Yeah the army supposed to take care of it but every year they ignore the reminder for some reason. And I don't think it is about greed !! There is something bigger
Actually, it would've been a GOOD thing if someone got greedy. Some greedy bureaucrat could have sold the AN to local farmers, bribed the guards off, and pocketed the excess. Everybody would have been better off: the farmers, the bureaucrat, the citizens of Beirut.
Dr. Sella gives an excellent presentation of the causal chain leading to this disaster. This is the ninth major disaster caused by improper storage of Ammonium Nitrate in significant quantities near a residential area. Although all the persons responsible will never be known, the port authorities who brought this material off the ship six years ago committed the first and most significant act. They should have known about the Texas City disaster as a matter of professional training and have been trained in hazardous material storage. Their initial act was a crime. From the moment they brought it into the warehouse, this accident was waiting to happen. They are the most responsible parties.
If you put explosive chemicals anywhere that has potential to trigger an explosion, expect that there will be an explosion. That’s why America keeps all there nuclear weapons in the Nevada(?) desert. Nobody is around in case something goes wrong, because it certainly could, and eventually will.
In 1959 a truck filled with ammonium nitrate parked near downtown Roseburg Oregon. As it so happens there was a fire in a dumpster which spread to the truck. The truck blew up causing massive damage to downtown.
this same thing happen in texas back in 1947. a cargo ship the cargo ship High Flyer was also carrying ammonium nitrate when a fire broke out and it exploded killing 581 people. my thoughts and prayers go out to the families who lost friends and loved ones and all the people of the city of Beirut. a special condolence to the families of the firefighters that died, as a firefighter myself they are my brothers and sisters and we all fell their loss. rest in brothers and sisters of the fire service
I saw a test at Los Alamos using only a mere 50 lb bag of Ammonia nitrate detonated in the trunk of a car. I didn't notice anything remaining bigger than an inch.
Is chenical and oil industry allowing his workers bring a pack of cigarrets on there factory?? So far i know... isnt allowed, my house has 2 km aways from the Cevron thermal factory and iam seen no one smocking inside his factoty🙄
Believe it or not, and I stress that this was not on the day, but there is a photo of one of the fireman who died with several of his colleagues and one of them has a lit cigarette in his hand! They are posing for the photo but the irony is still there!
How much diesal or equivalent was pumped into nitrate to do this ? This chemist explained nothing .asked mining industry why they need to mix with diesal To make it viable to use as an explosive
Massive regulatory failure. Ammonium nitrate shouldn't be stored in such large quantities near residential areas. It can catch fire and cau§e massive blast as it did.
@@Truthsaberslash so I'm still waiting for the radar images that one of the neighboring, and generally Israel-hostile governments, will show. In the meantime that theory seems to be just that, a theory, with zero evidence!
"Do you think something like this could happen again?" Well....it's already happened enough times that Wikipedia has a page listing ammonium nitrate disasters, dating back to 1916. And that list is just accidents; it doesn't include intentional detonations like the Oklahoma City bombing. It does list *four* prior to the BASF explosion in Oppau, Germany in 1921, which was briefly alluded to in the video. This is the sixth to have cost over a hundred lives. Most have thankfully happened in more remote places.
Oklahoma, Beirut, Tianjin and many, many, MANY more explosions are NECLEAR illumibati attacks, from 0.01 to 5 kton PURE NUCLEAR BOMBS. Conventional explosions NEVER leave a crater. Much less on reinforced concrete like Beirut, radiation in this case is cover by the small size of the bomb and the sea water covering the crater. The vapor condensed shock wafe is similar to the baker shoot
This Andrea Sella chemist from Switzerland is very bright and spot on with his assessment of the whole Beirut explosion and the events that led up to it. Huge store of ammonium nitrate improperly stored, probably did absorb moisture of the years and became solid which means pressure could build up within the solid mass. The stuff burns, gets hot, melts, burns some more as it releases its own oxygen to fuel the burning. The fireworks probably detonated which created a massive ammonium nitrate detonation from the over pressure from the fireworks explosion. There appears to be a large red fireball explosion (fireworks detonation?) followed quickly by much larger second explosion that appears to be white smoke (ammonium nitrate detonation). It was like the perfect storm. In any event, this Andrea fellow is smart and super knowledgeable.
Brown red smoke doesnt fit with ammonium nitrate. What it does fit with highly concentrated nitric acid, which is used as oxidizer in rocket fuel (FUMING NITRIC ACID - fna). This is used for instance in large bombs. The oxidizing reaction causes red brown smokel Something tells me that there is more to this story then what we are told.
Not to mention A.N. needs a catalyst, such as diesel fuel to become explosive like that. Something else going on, that was not a regular boom from A.N.
Ammonium nitrate is part nitric acid. Yes, it's an oxidizer that needs combine with a fuel or catalyst of some sort in order to explode. As with other similar AN accidental explosions in the past, I suspect that the fire provided an explosive environment of smoke, hot gases, and vapor. Once the heat from the fire reached the point of destabilizing the AN oxidation, it all went kaboom.
AS a fireman I can tell you what happened to those poor souls. With an explosion like that which I liken to a nuclear bomb or a volcanic eruption they would have been vaporized. Happily if you can call it that they never saw it coming and never knew it hit. May they rest in peace and may their families rest in knowing they were doing what they loved to do
Looks like a small nuke to me!
@@dw4940 Israel did it. It's obvious.
@@dw4940 it was about as strong as a very week NUKE! Some experts say it was about 1/5 of what was dropped in ww2... Just imagine if it was 1 mile in the city and went off...!!
@@johnjay6370 Tactical nukes has lower yields. Between 0.5-10 kilotons (equivalent with TNT in kilotons)
@@arnie977 Yes that was my point. This was less than a 3kt explosion. I have read experts say it was between .2ktons up to 1ktons. If the building was not there to act as a blast shield it would have caused much more damage. Also it looks like alot of the explosion was directed down and to the sea... It could have been much worse!... I also think this was an inside job and the fireworks were there to do just this..Fireworks Burn Very HOT!! I am now worried that there will be groups filling old ships with this stuff and setting them on fire in ports doing the same type of damage.
This is the equivalent of having an arsonist investigate his own fires. The government is 100% responsible, but will take none of the blame.
True
Lack of action caused this tragedy. For 6 years chemicals were stored. People wrote many letters of concern, but nothing was done.
This should never have happened.
@@livinginbidenstan3251 letters I'm sure that were never opened, it's Beirut, the wild west of the Middle East! Lazy bureaucrats corruption, terrorists, collapsing economy etc. 562 tons one a lot less than the 2,754 tonnes that warehouse was supposed to contain. It's a good thing for Beirut, but who and how is the missing 2,754 tonnes going to be used? 562 tons one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded. Made me think back to 1995 and the damage Timothy McVeigh caused in Oklahoma with 4,800lbs ammonium nitrate-fuel oil bomb.
I swear, DW is the only news source that doesn't make silly assumptions and actually does research before reporting!
not really, but are among the better ones
I like dw tv
not always
Green Grub You just have a political bias.
@@Joso997 What would you say is one of the best sources for non-bias? I am always on the hunt for some good news sources.
Best quote: It's difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.
Aren't predictions (by definition) about the future?
@@adrosjp true, but it can take place in the past (like watching a movie and predecting something that might happen, even though someone else might already have that information). Or theoretical "if" scenarios
I laughed out loud when he said that. Brilliant chap nonetheless. Laid everything out in an educated and systematic manner
@@adrosjp not really. You could make predictions on how events were unfolding long after they happened and then confirm or disprove them as more information become available.
For instance, ammonium nitrate was one of my first suspects after I saw the blast as such explosions happened before, and it's hard to imagine that amount and density of any other type of explosive materials being held in civilian port. An educated guess is a form of a prediction.
laierr in that case you’re still trying to predict information that will be uncovered/released in the future based on speculation. Prediction pertains to future events.
Imagine living in Beirut for six whole years. Going to work, to movies, restaurants, enjoy the beach.
Meanwhile there is a kiloton bomb ready to explode anytime.
If you live in the United States...
These a good chance there's a bomb in your city right now with a yield over a kiloton (more likely in the megaton range). Okay, so its not in the form of poorly stored fertiliser... But poorly stored explosives in a city are bad...whatever they are supposed to be for.
Now changed the name of city from Beirut to any other, it's the same with any other major cities.
@@Anon-xd3cf Nuclear missile silos tend to be in unpopulated (and often undisclosed) areas, if that's what you're talking about. They do so not only for safety, but so that nuclear attacks by an enemy on major cities wouldn't take out the silos.
1400 nukes 35 miles from my door, kitsap bangor
We need God to tell us about the furure..God, we didnt know what will happen..😓Not in internet..not in a dream..why non of us aware of it..?
Quality reporting DW well done.
Refreshing change to have objective reporting and actual expert analysis not just some talking head with an opinion.
2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate equals the equivalent of a 2.75 kiloton explosion! That’s the power of a ‘small’ tactical nuke! (except no radiative fallout)
@@stubones yeah. DW does opinion too on some topics. They need to separate those skills so the opinion side doesn’t pollute the objective stuff.
As a person that used Ammonium Nitrate (ANFO ammonium nitrate and fuel oil) in the mining industry as an explosive. Knowing that it will only burn if it is lit on fire, it takes a heat and pressure to set it off. As seen in the video the first explosion is relatively minor but it was enough pressure and with the heat of the fire it spelled disaster. We had a saying, "The harder you kick ANFO the better it works". Storing that much in one area is crazy.
That's exactly what happened back in Texas City, Texas back in the 1940s.
The second a saw his hair, I knew he was the chemist..
The second they saw your photo, they all knew you were a NECKBEARD...
😂 that is a good one angel!
well said
Just like me-self, ...
He had been testing the new "Ammonium Niitrate" Shampoo, ...
🤯💥💨
🥼⚗🧴
Now, ... I have a dyslexic mohawk, ...
🙄
🥼⚗🧴
@@hardyspicer2163 haha get it guys it's funny because I called someone a neckbeard
sad for our world. Rip to anyone who had passed away. Praying for everyone there.
May there souls rest in peace.
@@kimcarson6909 amen
Good explanation from the scientist
ye ikr?
Ik
The heroes firefighters just vanish in the air ...reduced to dust ..so sad!
@@TheVijimz Lack of transparency between the safety regulators, government and port authorities. That might have caused some information to gone missing about the whereabouts of these chemicals. And when one of the parties become negligent about this stuff then it can be bad news. Nobody really knew about these chemicals, or maybe a few people did and or some might have forgotten resulting in those poor firefighters to go in completely unaware of what they were actually dealing with.
@@TheVijimz I don't know how DW managed to become a news channel with such poor quality of news!! Ammonium nitrate stockpile wasn't even belong to Lebanon rather a Russian businessman that after some engine problems in his cargo ship they ditched it's cargo in Lebanon 6 years ago which is why ammonium nitrate stockpile was still in the port, more accurately in CUSTOMS and it wasn't even legally entered Lebanon yet!! This doesn't change the fact that the stockpile should had been removed or not accepted into Lebanese customs at first place but you know politics and Russian way of handling things so it was accepted one way and another!! So there is much bigger problem than just ''poor regulations'' here and it is this huge Russian influence in Mediterranean like never before but ofc Europe is turning a blind eye as usual. Or even worse like France supporting a Russian puppet, warlord aka ''strongman'' haftar in Libya!! Europe became a total joke in every way...
@@ggoddkkiller1342 are you going to paste this in every comments section? Get over it.
@@jonnyjackson6050 Could you please explain why you care even slightly if i get over it or not?? You should argue about actual subjects instead of wasting time for such absolute nonsenses...
@@ggoddkkiller1342 I could but I feel I'd be wasting my time.
History: So 2020, which catastrophes do you want?
2020: Yes!
@F-zero91maru The entire decade could be like that for all we know.
B Erulan I don’t think anyone thought to put this on their 2020 BINGO card.
@Allen Jinu all those catastrophes wasn't world wide though.
We'll see more catastrophes because we're at the end of *An Age*
If you've studied astrology, you would know this. That's what our ancestors even predicted.
Mayans said that in 2012 there would be a *great change*. Guess what? Its *Not 2020* but actually *2012* because The Ethiopian calendar is correct and the calendar we use, which comes from the Greeks, is wrong 👀
F-zero91maru the world will get worst and worst it’s not gonna get better. Trust me. This is all in the Bible. Jesus is coming soon repent and turn to him. He is very real
A year can't predict what's gonna happen the next second, minute, hour, day, month, or year.
Very good explanation from the chemist. I once found a pallet of ammonium perchlorate once on a city street by itself. It’s much worse and I called local officials twice and couldn’t get someone to understand how dangerous that was. It was gone a couple of days later.
Privet! THAT is the fuel in the combustion chamber of Rocket Booster Motors...like those two side rockets when the Space Shuttle launched.
I live no where near this country, but I feel incredibly horrible for everyone who passed and were injured in the explosion. I feel utterly horrible for the people who have lost their loved ones. :(
It HAS happened in the US before: An entire ship loaded with it blew up in a South Texas port. Many years ago. Essentially wiped the whole place off the map, and killed scores. It STILL gets used as an example in firefighter training.
Galveston Bay 1947.
that chemist guy looks like the scientist in Half-Life
I wondered where I recognized him from
The shock wave is the most dangerous part, imagine seeing it and waiting about 1 long second for it to hit you. Watching it rush towards you :(
Very very sad and devastating, my heart goes out to everyone in beriut 😞
This is negligence at its finest.
True.
@Nurrizq Yuzain Troll account
@Transgender prophet Muhammad We have 750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in Chennai port.
Wrong. This is clearly a controlled, precisely detonated explosion caused by a weapon of mass destruction.
SEW IT WITH BRIT from Dave: Maybe a new search category: Bureaucrats and Disasters? Can’t wait to see how many bodies will be stacked up from that search....
I knew someone who is probably dead from that or terribly injured... i hope theyre okay... i will pray for all of the hurt ones 😭😭😭
That dude just looked like a chemist
My thoughts go out to all those effected by this disaster.
There is a dedicated wikipedia article only about the long list of ammonium nitrate disasters: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonium_nitrate_disaster
You'd think people by now should know to not store thousands of tons of this stuff next to a major city.
Very heartbreaking what happened in Beirut, I feel so sorry for these people :(
It is heartbreaking. Shouldn't have happened. But we live in a system where people care more about money than people's lives They make all these chemicals and then are neglegent like 8 year olds.
Thank You for sharing that. Very interesting.
Yes, I had no idea, this was still possible. I had a hobby-farm 20 years ago, and we were restricted from even buying it.. Seemed to be good controls then, at least in the US. Years before that I recall a large fire. Many firefighters responded. I don't recall if they actually knew that ammonium nitrate was present, but they attempted to put out the fire,, when the nitrate blew, some were decapitated.
Especially when you consider how much food that stuff could help grow.
Thank you. It appears this kind of disaster has occurred numerous times. Unbelievable that the authorities have not learnt from history.
People haven't really noticed the two distinct waves that hit. One - the land wave. A 3.5M EQ Jolt in the footage traveling 3000+mph from the landfill blast crater. Two - the airborne shockwave called a shock egg expanding at 761mph+. If you know the speed of each, you can figure out how far from ground zero the footage was. Just like with lightning.
2
E=MC.
That I can tell you.
@Tom Adams *E=MC2.
Earthquakes too, sort of. P waves arrive before S waves.
There's pretty interesting footage from a wedding where first the ground shakes and people look around concerned and then a moment later all the windows blow out and everyone runs away screaming.
People are awful when it comes to physics, and even worse with recognizing applications.
If you remember one thing, if you're hanging around and the ground shakes hard, the most important thing you'll do in your life is get out of the way of flying glass and debris RIGHT NOW. DROP. RIGHT NOW.
They were repairing the building, welding damaged steel door frames that had been hit by a truck when some pallets caught fire. There were fireworks stored in the building next to the pallets and they caught fire. The fireworks are going off in other videos when the explosion happens. Chain of negligence, not moving flammable materials next to wielding, leaving fireworks next to explosives, leaving explosives concentrated in large amounts. No fire extinguishers. The blast could have been stopped anywhere along the chain but no one took the responsibility to do so. Complete complacency. So many "accidents" like this.
Yes, please do tell us how you have completed this flawless examination of an accident from your keyboard in another country................
@@MrClaypogue he was the welder!!
you say all that but why would they be welding near Ammonium Nitrate the same { Ammonium Nitrate } that many ppl know always has to be stored in a underground military storage stockpot and why were their fireworks their ? that dose not make sense
@@milliondollar2981 Right!!!
@@althegamer6606 It makes sense when you are dealing with totally ignorant bureaucrats.
An excellent report explained well by an expert.
Well explained, very good interview.
Beirut governor says half the city damaged in blasts
Great job DW♥️ Love the stories you brought up.
Feeling sorrow for those who lost their lives. RIP
Kudos to that "scientist" who managed to look smart while avoiding answering questions.
Hard to believe just over 100 died, this looks like the death toll needs to catch up, I’d give it a few days to get a proper count.
Some bodies will never be found because they were vaporized.
That's just sad
The body count is not finished yet
People will start claim that any missing person is dead but government cannot add the numbers without waiting for enough time or doing some investigation.
This is normal country like any other country everyone have someone looking for them not a war zone were it is hard to know what is really is going on
@@gearoidp Yeah, I can't speak for how the work day looks like in Lebanon, but local time was about 6 PM, which hopefully means most had gone home for the day (though obviously these kinds of locations have night shift workers and such too, but hopefully not in the same quantities).
ibrahim Al-jundi definitely,,, once the dust settles the missing persons count will begin, I notice the building in the residential area blew out from the face of the building facing the explosion to the other side..... it looks like a nuke went off minus the mushroom cloud.
Yep, this video show that it doesnt always matter if you are first to report. But more importantly, is how you report. precise and clear it is DW. Bravo.
We can hear frustration and anger in his voice explaining it. Thing like this won't happen if proper care measure is taken. But with corrupt government, nothing we can do.
I don't know how DW managed to become a news channel with such poor quality of news!! Ammonium nitrate stockpile wasn't even belong to Lebanon rather a Russian businessman that after some engine problems in his cargo ship they ditched it's cargo in Lebanon 6 years ago which is why ammonium nitrate stockpile was still in the port, more accurately in CUSTOMS and it wasn't even legally entered Lebanon yet!! This doesn't change the fact that the stockpile should had been removed or not accepted into Lebanese customs at first place but you know politics and Russian way of handling things so it was accepted one way and another!! So there is much much bigger problem than just ''poor regulations'' here and it is this huge Russian influence in Mediterranean like never before but ofc Europe is turning a blind eye as usual. Or even worse like France supporting a Russian puppet, warlord aka ''strongman'' haftar in Libya!! Europe became a total joke in every way...
It was a missile! Search for this “blast” in slow motion and thermal! Thus meaning no blast of ammonium nitrate! This was a warhead people! Wake up!
@@ggoddkkiller1342 What does that have to do with the original comment
@Justin Esparza I'm just amazed how docile and gullible people are. Probably more than 200 people were killed, too.
Make it. Use it. Don't store it. Oh, and use a reliable shipper.
whole story was a coverup for Israel tactical nuke search for it.
Who in their right mind would store fireworks in the same warehouse with Ammonium nitrate? It was a bomb with a fuse attached, all you need is a match!
Fireworks or one of Hezbollah's ammunition caches. The truth will be never known due to Lebanese internal politics.
Remember the name Soleimani from Iran? He and Hezbollah decided this. Lebanon's government knew about this. Israel Prime Minister showed this to the UN in 2018 with photos. The world didn't take notice..
rom lptn I believe the OP was being sarcastic.
you don't store it anywhere near diesel fuel either. Whe I was kid we used to mix fertilzer and diesel fuel together to blow red gum tree stumps out of the ground.
@rom lptn not sarcastic, more like figure of speech.
Firefighters didn't stand a chance! Very sad for the people in Beirut! The nearby storage silos and proximetry to water assuredly magnified the extent of the exposion.
Would it have been a smaller explosion if it was in the middle of the city center?
An almost identical explosion took place in Texas City, Texas in 1947.
I'm wondering if this fire was set intentionally. This is reminiscent of the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Tx. The fire that triggered the explosion, investigators say it was arson.
We had the same more recently on a lower level in France at Toulouse with AZF. Although a 10th of Libanon, this explosion smashed all its neighborhood... I do agree with the expert : it will happen in the future sadly...😒🦧🦥🐌🙈🙉🙊⏳💣🙅♂️🔥⛑🤕💀🤬
...and in 2013, West Fertilizer Company explosion in Texas.
But in Texas City it was stored properly. But the captain wasn't aware that they should just steer the ship out of the harbour and abandon ship instead of trying to fight it with water. They had one hour to do this.
So it was just a fire accident which didn't got properly handled. In Libanon it was 6 years of neglected any safety of storage which lead to this explosion. It wasn't an accident, it was manslaughter.
An explosion in Russia
Why use 1 pound of ammonium nitrate when 5,500,000 pounds (2,750 tons, 2.75 kilotons) will do?
Very sad event indeed! How can a people be so careless with such materials?So sad for the people who lost their lives in an avoidable explosion!
What an unbelievable explosion!!! I was in shock when I first saw this 😲
I wasn't shocked probably because I was to busy laughing at this
Very good interview.
Same thing happened in the town of “West” Texas a few years ago...Leveled a good part of the town
same cause too, just on a much larger scale in beirut
was it 40 tons in west texas? can't remember
@@irvalfirestar6265 Do not forget the Galvuston Bay, Texas area either.
Happened in West Texas, Happened in China, Happened in Texas City Texas in 1947 with the Grand Camp, and High Flyer.
The one in West, Texas was a whole lot smaller blast, but it was still enough to break the windows in my garage door about forty miles to the north. And it was LOUD, even that far away.
Anyone noticed that toppled white ship on the opposite bay? Cant imagine the intensity of that explosion.
The cruise ship "Orient Queen" smashed into the pier which caused extensive damage, but it did not capsize until the next day. There is a photo of the owner standing next to the ship right after the explosion.
"When Abou Merhi and her team returned to the port the next day, they found water flowing into the ship's engine. And they could only stand by and watch as the 120-metre ship sank"
is that a ship on its side after the explosion? whoa!
So so sad, my heart are bledding for the people who lost love ones. And the many with injury's
The ammonium nitrate was on a transport ship from Russia, on it’s way to Africa. Underway, there were complications and they had to stop the ship in Beirut, where it was going to be temporarily stored, until it was clear to send. This was in 2014.
A whole city was destroyed because some people didn’t take responsibility and just let the cargo sit there for 6 years.
Privet! You talk rubbish!
Without this port, no more competition for Haifa.
@deee 327 I didn’t jump to any conclusion, but you must admit the *TIMING* fitting perfectly with sanctions on Lebanon & Syria. If the only open port in Yemen is suddenly destroyed... well it could be an “accident”, or not.
@@AlexandreEdison Ridiculous blamegaming for a predictable failure in such a malfuncioning corrupt society.
Love the way you explain news
Yeah. More than 90% damage was done by the shockwave.
Any news stations in the planet are just no Match to DW! You guys just cover everything in an amazing way! Thank you!
I wonder if this fire was set intentionally. This is reminiscent of the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Tx. The fire that triggered the explosion, investigators say it was arson.
Investigation will tell
@@AlexGNR haha
@@sjonbeton yeah... I don't know how they are going to tell anything....there is nothing left.
Yeah what really triggered the explosion
Disaster7317 lmao investigation will tell. How did 9/11’s investigation come out?
This about the only rational discussion of the explosion I have seen! Congratulations! By the way, I'm also a chemist.
2020 Directed by: Michael Bay
0:29 the buildings were flattened out :o holy
Very sad 😔 I hate u 2020 because a lot of people left us I miss you dad 😭😭 RIP
Was your dad affected by the explosion??
Sushi Bento no
@@smilewithme2640 Oh okay. Btw, may your father rest in peace. 🙏🙏
RIP
Oh my God, I am sorry for your loss!😭
This reminds me, October 23 1983, when 241 U. S marines, 58 French paratroopers and 6 civilians where killed by suicide bombers in Beirut in a single day. It was estimated that the equivalent of explosive detonated by bombers is approximately 9,500 kg tnt.
If it's so unstable they shouldn't leave such a large quantity lying around.
That's a literal powder keg waiting to go off.
I dont believe ammonium nitrate is dangerous at all really, even if you mix it with a fuel you need a pretty strong blasting cap to detonate it.
It's surprising that the explosion happened only now. It was laying around there for 6 years!
Yea, I was going to die because of them..thank you for seeing this
Thank you sherlock, your deep insight knowledge, do something with it.
Detonation so strong it knocks the water right out of the air!
if the explosion happens in another part of the world, maybe just maybe there would be no speculation
There will always be. People like the “stories”. Reality is boring for them.
Why
@@CatherineLacroix616 Yup
A large tonnage of fireworks were stored in the same warehouse, no chemical warning signs on exterior, no sprinkler system inside, no security guards, fireman could not access the interior.. On site neglect, photographs show spillage from the sacks of nitrate, etc..
Expert said "if you ever see such a fire connected to this nitrate then run for your lives as you you will not stop the fire"..
R.I.P..
The after pic makes clear they now have a substantially larger harbour than before .......
Deepest condolences from Malaysia. Stay strong Lebanon.
already years they stored that thing there and maybe think nothing will happen, many incidents happen that way moreless
brata sena more or less.
They were complacent
Ammonium nitrate has a shelf life of 6 months. The media is saying that it was stored there for 4+ YEARS. THE AMMONIUM NITRATE STORY IS A LIE!!! ISRAEL DID THIS!!!
@@rkit6707 Really dummy. Ammonium nitrate is very stable when kept in air tight container, it can stay like that for a very very long time.
@@rkit6707 ammoniumnitrate is in molecular formula NH4NO3 thus making it a 0- charge and thus super stable
Had that explosion been 100ft in the air that city would have been wiped
Half of the impact was absorbed by the sea otherwise Beirut would've been gone
More than 100 ft
the Massive Explosion, the Blast Wave, the Mushroom Cloud is like a Nuclear Explosion!
Storing highly flammable fire works next to 2750 tons of Ammonium nitrate, what could possible go wrong?
This happens again and again in history. In Tessenderlo, Belgium, there was an accident in 1942 with only 150 tons of ammonium nitrate, but since it was located near the center of the city there were 189 dead.
Mr. Expert is wrong. The condensation cloud (the white mist spherical in shape) is way behind the shock wave, which is supersonic.
The cloud is the Wilson Effect, and unknown to most people it DOES INDEED form BEHIND the big pressure wave. When you see that cloud that is only the condensation of humidity in the vacuum behind the pressure wave. If something standing and watching thinks he can watch that cloud and then duck is going to get hit by the pressure wave way before that cloud would reach him!!
this is really devastating.. i pray for the people and your country
As a video gamer, I've seen the effects of destructive weapons upon terrain, especially in Command & Conquer.
But *THIS?*
The "before" and "after" shots put my past experiences to shame.
Nothing left of the building but a water-filled crater, and the surrounding buildings took a lot of damage, too.
Scary stuff. My prayers go out to the people of Lebanon. Surviving might be a tricky thing right now, especially since the explosion destroyed a large supply of grain.
"As a video gamer" lmao
@@cambamslam3510 Well, if you've played any games that involve nuclear explosions of some kind, you kind of underestimate the damage caused by them.
It's different when you see the actual real life devastation caused by something similar, like the Beirut blast, for instance.
@@SaviourV Ok lol.
Condolences to Surviving Family Members and Wishing a Quick and Complete Recovery to the injured............. Can't help but wonder why they Seized it in the First Place; and why they Refused to permit the cargo to be transferred to another Vessel. ✌
I already knew how explosions work.
The boat was going to Africa when the boat had some violation they could not get a hold of it’s owners the crazy thing is why keep it for 6 years after knowing what it contained they got greedy for money!
Yeah the army supposed to take care of it but every year they ignore the reminder for some reason. And I don't think it is about greed !! There is something bigger
Actually, it would've been a GOOD thing if someone got greedy. Some greedy bureaucrat could have sold the AN to local farmers, bribed the guards off, and pocketed the excess.
Everybody would have been better off: the farmers, the bureaucrat, the citizens of Beirut.
Excellent idea!!
Dr. Sella gives an excellent presentation of the causal chain leading to this disaster. This is the ninth major disaster caused by improper storage of Ammonium Nitrate in significant quantities near a residential area. Although all the persons responsible will never be known, the port authorities who brought this material off the ship six years ago committed the first and most significant act. They should have known about the Texas City disaster as a matter of professional training and have been trained in hazardous material storage. Their initial act was a crime. From the moment they brought it into the warehouse, this accident was waiting to happen. They are the most responsible parties.
Very competent account and elucidation by Mr Sella.
You don't need a degree in chemistry or in engineering or in any other field to know something one day in that warehouse will go wrong.
@Green Grub you dumb ? ammonium nitrate with humidity plus HEAT goes BANG . Yes Covid exists
@Green Grub Please, sit down and calm down and breath. You can think this through.
If you put explosive chemicals anywhere that has potential to trigger an explosion, expect that there will be an explosion. That’s why America keeps all there nuclear weapons in the Nevada(?) desert. Nobody is around in case something goes wrong, because it certainly could, and eventually will.
In 1959 a truck filled with ammonium nitrate parked near downtown Roseburg Oregon. As it so happens there was a fire in a dumpster which spread to the truck. The truck blew up causing massive damage to downtown.
So very sad 😔
My thoughts are with the people
It's not sad
He shook his head in disbelief No one will be held accountable
this same thing happen in texas back in 1947. a cargo ship the cargo ship High Flyer was also carrying ammonium nitrate when a fire broke out and it exploded killing 581 people. my thoughts and prayers go out to the families who lost friends and loved ones and all the people of the city of Beirut. a special condolence to the families of the firefighters that died, as a firefighter myself they are my brothers and sisters and we all fell their loss. rest in brothers and sisters of the fire service
I saw a test at
Los Alamos using only a mere 50 lb bag of Ammonia nitrate detonated in the trunk of a car.
I didn't notice anything remaining bigger than an inch.
Same thing happened in las Vegas Nevada. A company that made rocket fuel
This stuff sits on SO many ports around the world its crazy and you wonder why they say don't smoke on ports.
Firefighters on the scene? Damn, if the whole ground disappeared they must have been obliterated
I'm afraid they were. All 10 of them.
1947 Texas City, Texas disaster killing 581, caused by a cargo ship fire carrying 2,300 tons of Ammonium nitrate.
Worker 1: “why are you smoking in the factory”?
Worker 2: “what could go wr...”
Is chenical and oil industry allowing his workers bring a pack of cigarrets on there factory??
So far i know... isnt allowed, my house has 2 km aways from the Cevron thermal factory and iam seen no one smocking inside his factoty🙄
Believe it or not, and I stress that this was not on the day, but there is a photo of one of the fireman who died with several of his colleagues and one of them has a lit cigarette in his hand! They are posing for the photo but the irony is still there!
This only proves that the elevator next door was built VERY good! It's still standing! Everything else is destroyed!
Look at the some of the clips again you will see what looks like a second wave when it hits the silo's.grain dust is highly explosive.
How much diesal or equivalent was pumped into nitrate to do this ? This chemist explained nothing .asked mining industry why they need to mix with diesal
To make it viable to use as an explosive
Massive regulatory failure. Ammonium nitrate shouldn't be stored in such large quantities near residential areas. It can catch fire and cau§e massive blast as it did.
Lebonese govt pursue collecting large quantity of ammonium nitrate from jordan
Totally Arthi!
That is the cover story. Isreal attacked a weapons depot with a missile. Netanyahu pointed out this warehouse at the UN a year ago as a target.
@@Truthsaberslash so I'm still waiting for the radar images that one of the neighboring, and generally Israel-hostile governments, will show. In the meantime that theory seems to be just that, a theory, with zero evidence!
@@Truthsaberslash gimme radar and thermal then covidiot
Sella is great, he's my chemistry professor at university. Glad to see him here.
He him self sounds lost trying to explain it
Lets store all these flammable fireworks right next to the high explosive ammonium nitrate stockpile. Yeah.
"Do you think something like this could happen again?"
Well....it's already happened enough times that Wikipedia has a page listing ammonium nitrate disasters, dating back to 1916. And that list is just accidents; it doesn't include intentional detonations like the Oklahoma City bombing. It does list *four* prior to the BASF explosion in Oppau, Germany in 1921, which was briefly alluded to in the video. This is the sixth to have cost over a hundred lives. Most have thankfully happened in more remote places.
Oklahoma, Beirut, Tianjin and many, many, MANY more explosions are NECLEAR illumibati attacks, from 0.01 to 5 kton PURE NUCLEAR BOMBS. Conventional explosions NEVER leave a crater. Much less on reinforced concrete like Beirut, radiation in this case is cover by the small size of the bomb and the sea water covering the crater. The vapor condensed shock wafe is similar to the baker shoot
This Andrea Sella chemist from Switzerland is very bright and spot on with his assessment of the whole Beirut explosion and the events that led up to it. Huge store of ammonium nitrate improperly stored, probably did absorb moisture of the years and became solid which means pressure could build up within the solid mass. The stuff burns, gets hot, melts, burns some more as it releases its own oxygen to fuel the burning. The fireworks probably detonated which created a massive ammonium nitrate detonation from the over pressure from the fireworks explosion. There appears to be a large red fireball explosion (fireworks detonation?) followed quickly by much larger second explosion that appears to be white smoke (ammonium nitrate detonation). It was like the perfect storm. In any event, this Andrea fellow is smart and super knowledgeable.
let's put these fireworks right next to this huge pile of explosive material....what could go wrong ? 🤷🏻♂️
@Joe Smith no it is not
Its hezballa. The media is lying
The funny thing is that not one fireworks dealer had any imported fireworks at that time in the port.
No my friend this was a bomb making related.
@Joe Smith yes man thats what happens when protesters rule the country and decide to kick its misrable rulers out
So sad,quick recovery to the injured
Brown red smoke doesnt fit with ammonium nitrate.
What it does fit with highly concentrated nitric acid, which is used as oxidizer in rocket fuel (FUMING NITRIC ACID - fna). This is used for instance in large bombs. The oxidizing reaction causes red brown smokel Something tells me that there is more to this story then what we are told.
Not to mention A.N. needs a catalyst, such as diesel fuel to become explosive like that. Something else going on, that was not a regular boom from A.N.
Same thing I was thinking, my friend told me it was just an, first of all an isn't that strong on its own, there must of been explosives in the mix
That explosion was clearly a bomb or missile, that exploded either accidently in the fire or an ambush,
Ammonium nitrate is part nitric acid. Yes, it's an oxidizer that needs combine with a fuel or catalyst of some sort in order to explode. As with other similar AN accidental explosions in the past, I suspect that the fire provided an explosive environment of smoke, hot gases, and vapor. Once the heat from the fire reached the point of destabilizing the AN oxidation, it all went kaboom.
@@CatherineLacroix616 ok if you say so
I think grain silos absorbed some explosion waves.