About the Beirut Blast And The Heroes

About the Beirut Blast And The Heroes

On 4th August 2020, two massive explosions rocked Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. The explosions were caused due to a fire breaking out in Hanger 12 on the port of Beirut. Soon after, the videos of the blast went viral on the internet.

For a nation like Lebanon that has previously experienced a 15-year civil war, people were quick to assume that the blast was an act of terrorism. However, this theory was soon put to rest when the real reason behind the explosion was unveiled.

The death toll, due to this blast, is over 150, and more than 5,000 people are being treated for their injuries. The tragedy that struck Beirut on a Tuesday afternoon, was so massive that it even affected those living 10 km away from the blast site.

So, what was the  cause of such a massive explosion in Beirut? Let us have a look at the events that led to this disaster.

What caused the explosion?

The actual cause behind the fire , which eventually led to the explosion in Beirut, is still unclear. Earlier on 4th August 2020, there was maintenance scheduled to be done on the doors of hanger number 12. This might have been one of the reasons for the explosion that occurred later during the day.

At noon, a fire broke out on the port of Beirut. The security officials and passersby all suspected it to be the firecrackers that were stored in one of the hangers. Little did they know about the ticking time bomb that was waiting to go off since 2013, when it first arrived in Beirut.

The massive explosion that sent a shock wave across the city was caused by the ammonium nitrate that was stored in this hanger. This arrived at the port in 2013. However, due to certain reasons, it never got the clearance to be shipped off to a different location.

Over the years, the government was approached to approve the clearance of this massive shipment of ammonium nitrate. However, no such attempt to move it away from the massive population of Beirut was ever made.

By now, all of us have seen the massive explosion that vaporized everything close to the port. You might be wondering how much Ammonium nitrate was in hanger number 12, to cause such massive damage. About 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate was present in hanger number 12. The moment it caught fire, there was no stopping the massive explosion that soon followed.

Events leading to the massive blast:

On 4th August 2020 afternoon, Beirut firefighters received a distress call that a fire had broken out in one of the hangers, on the port. The fire marshall enquired about the type of material that they were dealing with. The only information that they got was that some cargo had caught fire in one of the hangers, and needed to be put out.

As there were no red flags raised at this point, the fire marshall sent nine firefighters and one paramedic to the scene to put out the fire, and to aid anyone who was hurt on the scene.

As the fire brigade and the port were in very close vicinity, the fire engine and the ambulance reached the scene in no time and were let in by the security guards stationed at the port.

As soon as the firefighters arrived at the scene, they knew that this was no ordinary fire. The loud crackling sound alarmed the men on site who then informed the fire brigade to send in more men to douse the fire.

This was the last anyone ever heard from them. A massive explosion vaporized everything on the scene and sent a shockwave across the city, causing huge damage to anything that was in its path.

The heroes who lost their lives in Beirut Blast:

All nine firefighters and the one paramedic were taken out by the huge explosion in hanger number 12. Amongst them were three young firemen, Charbel Hitti, Charbel Karam, and Najib Hitti. Their actions helped save the lives of their other colleagues who were stationed at the fire brigade.

These men were sent out to fight the fire without having any idea about the dangerous contents present in the hangers, on  the port.

The blaze was too massive to be put out by a single fire engine. Additionally, loud sounds were coming out of hanger number 12, which further made the firefighters cautious of its contents. So, they immediately called for more fire engines to help put out the fire.

Everyone stationed in the upper floors of the fire brigade rushed to the basement to get into the fire engines. As soon as they got to the basement, the shock wave from the blast rocked the building and shattered all the windows of the building. Had the firefighters been on one of the upper floors when the shock wave hit them, they would have either been hurt or even killed by its impact.

The call from the firefighters who were on the scene saved every one stationed at the fire brigade. Unfortunately, none of those who got to the port survived the blast, and even the bodies of many of these firefighters are still nowhere to be found.

The aftermath of the blast:

The explosion rocked the whole of Beirut. Unsuspecting passersby who were capturing videos of the fire were all caught by surprise. Some of them even lost their lives due to the destruction caused by the blast wind and the shock wave.

The port of Beirut was the main port for food export and import to and from Lebanon. So, such large shipments of explosive materials should have never been stored in such populated areas. The destruction of this blast has resulted in losses of over $15 billion. Further, it has rendered more than 300,000 homeless.

If the details of the contents of that particular hanger were known to the firemen, then attempts to evacuate the port and nearby areas would have been made. By not knowing this key information, 9 firefighters, 1 paramedic and many others, lost their lives due to this massive explosion.

Pierre El Sokhn