Explosions in Lebanon

Unforgiving 2020: Devastating Explosions in Lebanon

The year 2020 certainly seems like it’s taking a test of all living creatures on earth. It seems like ages since we last heard good news this year. Everything from the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, social unrest because of the death of George Floyd, the locust swarm starting in East-Africa, bush-fire in Australia, plane crashes in Iran and Pakistan to name a few. This year has brought a lot of grief for us and the damage it seems hasn’t stopped yet. At around 6.08 PM EEST, on a seemingly normal day, two massive explosions rocked the city of Beirut, Lebanon. The force was strong enough to leave nearby buildings in crumbles. Moreover, it overturned hundreds of cars and tossed the debris in widescale areas. The explosions in Lebanon were said to be so loud, it was heard all the way to Cyprus. Cyprus is around 275km away. 

Videos of the explosions in Lebanon quickly went viral on the internet where we could observe the horrifying details. After the second explosion, a shockwave followed which in turn caused more destruction to the city.

The sky was tinted black and the smoke rose thousands of feet in the air. This horrifying view left the people in Beirut petrified. Further, it has been said that the explosion caused severe damage to hospitals, schools, mosques, churches, and universities nearby. 

So far, the casualty is at least 100 people with further 4000 more sufferings from severe and minor injuries. Many people have been wounded because of collapsing buildings and shattered glasses. Also, the fire caused after the explosions in Lebanon also caused much human damage.

Even though the exact cause of the explosion is yet to be determined, it has been reported that the first explosion may have been in the fireworks warehouse at the port. After the first explosion, the second explosion soon followed at the nearby depot. There were around 2750 tons of Ammonium Nitrate, meant to be used as a fertilizer, was stockpiled in that depot. Ammonium Nitrate is a highly explosive chemical. And because of the initial explosion, the massive amount of the chemical soon caught on and exploded accordingly. 

Investigators have now been assigned to determine whether the explosions were accidental or intentional.

Beirut was engulfed in a civil war from 1975 to 1990 and has seen bombings and conflict since then, raising fears of a possible return of violence. So, the possibility of the explosions being premeditated has not been ruled out thus far. 

It has been an unforgiving year so far and this news has plummeted the morale of people all around the world even further. It’s never good to hear innocent people falling to an early demise and even so when we know that they were not at fault.

We can only offer our sincere condolence to the lives lost during the tragic event and hope for the speedy recovery of all the injured individuals. Our heart goes out to the families who have lost their loved ones and hope the future will bring good things to all of us.