Videos show widespread devastation in the port area with fires burning in the rubble of destroyed buildings. The port would appear to have been largely destroyed in the explosion including grain silos which according to Dryad Global stored an estimated 85% of Lebanon’s grain.
Shipping agents GAC said: “Yesterday’s explosion and the subsequent blast in Beirut destroyed almost everything in the port and the surrounding area up to a radius of 10 kms. In magnitude, it was equal to an earthquake of 4.5 on the Richter scale.”
The explosion is being blamed on 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate which had been stored in a warehouse in the port for the past six years. The BBC quoted Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab “dangerous warehouse” which had been there since 2014, but said he would not pre-empt the investigation.