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The secondary (and first, presumably) explosion in Beirut happened at the Beirut Port Silos, geolocation: 33.902226, 35.518766. https://www.google.com/maps/@33.9022304,35.516572,872m/data=!3m1!1e3
There are reports of two explosion locations, one in downtown Beirut and one in the port, mentioned above. Here's a closer look at (one?) of the explosions at the port.
It's still unclear what caused the explosion, but this video clearly shows what magnitude it had.
Lebanese Army sources tell @sewella that it was *possibly* a burning container of fireworks, and the fire spread to a nitrate warehouse: https://twitter.com/sewella/status/1290678063643140097. This is the crackling fire before the major explosion.
Follow @GebeilyM for more updates on the aftermath. https://twitter.com/GebeilyM/status/1290697260112793600
What do we know so far about the Beirut explosion? @N_Waters89 takes a look at the openly available evidence for @Bellingcat. https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2020/08/04/what-just-blew-up-in-beirut
Satellite imagery collected by @Maxar this morning over Beirut clearly shows the power of the explosion with a large crater visible at the primary blast location, extensive destruction throughout the area and a capsized passenger ship.
How could ammonium nitrate, a common fertilizer, have caused the major explosion in Beirut? If placed under stress of heat and pressure — and negligence — it acts like a bomb. Useful explainer here by @johnismay, with input from @BrianCastner and others. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/world/middleeast/beirut-explosion-ammonium-nitrate.html
Between 30 to 40 nylon bags of fireworks were stored in the same warehouse as 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a former port worker and other sources have told @guardian. “We complained a lot about this over the years.“ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/07/beirut-explosion-former-port-worker-says-fireworks-stored-in-hangar
The ammonium nitrate that blew up in Beirut was left by M/V RHOSUS, an ailing ship whose fate was unclear. Until now. @ckoettl found out that it sank in early 2018, and has been submerged a mere 1,500 feet away from the warehouse that exploded. Read/watch: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/07/world/middleeast/lebanon-explosion-ship.html
A photo from 2014 shows the M/V RHOSUS with some of the 2,750 bags of ammonium nitrate in Beirut's port. These bags match the bags photographed later at the warehouse that eventually blew up, tweeted yesterday by @DimaSadek. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/07/world/middleeast/lebanon-explosion-ship.html
Check out my colleague @ckoettl's thread on how he tracked and found the M/V RHOSUS, including this satellite image which was taken around the day the ship sank. https://twitter.com/ckoettl/status/1291847646542540801
