2020 Beirut explosion

On 4 August 2020, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the port of the city of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, exploded, causing at least 207 deaths, 7,500 injuries, and US$15 billion in property damage, and leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless. A cargo of 2,750 tonnes of the substance (equivalent to around 1.1 kilotons of TNT) had been stored in a warehouse without proper safety measures for the previous six years, after having been confiscated by the Lebanese authorities from the abandoned ship . The explosion was preceded by a fire in the same warehouse, but , the exact cause of the detonation is still under investigation.
The blast was also felt across Turkey, Syria, Israel, Palestine, parts of Europe, and was heard in Cyprus, more than away. It was detected by the United States Geological Survey as a seismic event of magnitude 3.3, and is considered one of the most powerful artificial non-nuclear explosions in history.
The Lebanese government declared a two-week state of emergency in response to the disaster. In its aftermath, protests erupted across Lebanon against the government for their failure to prevent the disaster, joining a larger series of protests which have been taking place across the country since 2019.
Background.
The economy of Lebanon was in a state of crisis before the explosions, with the government having defaulted on debt, the pound plunging, and a poverty rate that had risen past 50%. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic had overwhelmed many of the country's hospitals, several of which were already short of medical supplies and unable to pay staff due to the financial crisis. The morning before the explosion, the head of the Rafik Hariri University Hospital, which served as the main coronavirus medical facility in Lebanon, warned that it was approaching full capacity.
The government-owned Port of Beirut serves as the main maritime entry point into Lebanon and a vital piece of infrastructure for the importation of scarce goods. The Beirut Naval Base is a part of the port. The port included four basins, sixteen quays, twelve warehouses, a large container terminal, and grain silos with a total capacity of 120,000 tonnes that served as a strategic reserve of cereals for the country. The silos were built in the 1960s as part of an expansion plan advanced by Palestinian banker Yousef Beidas.
MV "Rhosus".
On 27 September 2013, the Moldovan-flagged cargo ship set sail from Batumi, Georgia, to Beira, Mozambique, carrying of ammonium nitrate. "Rhosus" was owned by a company based in Panama but was regarded by the captain as under the "de facto" ownership of Russian businessman Igor Grechushkin. The shipment had been ordered by an African explosives manufacturing company for mining in Mozambique. However, reporting by Der Spiegel has found that it was not Russian national Grechushkin who owned the Rhosus, but rather the Cypriot businessman Charalambos Manoli, who maintained a relationship with the bank used by Hezbollah in Lebanon. On 21 November 2013, the ship made port in Beirut. Some sources said it was forced to port due to mechanical issues and possibly engine problems, while other sources claimed the owner did not have sufficient funds to pay tolls for the Suez Canal and attempted to take on a shipment of heavy machinery in Beirut. The heavy machinery was stacked on top of the doors to the cargo space containing the ammonium nitrate, causing the doors to buckle, which damaged the ship. After inspection by port state control, the "Rhosus" was deemed unseaworthy, and was forbidden to set sail. Eight Ukrainians and one or two Russians were aboard, and with the help of the Ukrainian consul, five Ukrainians were repatriated, leaving four crew members to care for the ship.
Grechushkin went bankrupt, and after the charterers lost interest in the cargo, he abandoned the ship. The "Rhosus" soon ran out of provisions, and the remaining crew were unable to disembark due to immigration restrictions. According to "Lloyd's List", the Beirut port authority seized the ship on 4February 2014, due to US$100,000 in unpaid bills. The ship had accrued port fees and been fined for refusing cargo. Lawyers argued for the crew's repatriation on compassionate grounds, because of the danger posed by the cargo still aboard the ship, and an Urgent Matters judge in Beirut allowed them to return home. They had been forced to live aboard the ship for about a year.
By order of the judge, the cargo was brought ashore in 2014 and placed in Warehouse 12 at the port, where it remained for the next six years. The MV "Rhosus" sank in the harbour in February 2018.
Customs officials had sent letters to judges requesting a resolution to the issue of the confiscated cargo, proposing that the ammonium nitrate be either exported, given to the army, or sold to the private Lebanese Explosives Company. Letters had been sent on 27 June and 5 December 2014, 6 May 2015, 20 May and 13 October 2016, and 27 October 2017. One of the letters sent in 2016 noted that judges had not replied to previous requests, and pleaded:
Explosion.
Fire and first explosion.
Around 6 P.M. on August 4, 2020, a fire broke out in Warehouse 12 at the Port of Beirut. Warehouse 12 was waterside and next to the grain silos; the warehouse stored the ammonium nitrate that had been confiscated from MV "Rhosus", alongside a stash of fireworks. Around 17:55 local time (14:55 UTC), a team of nine firefighters and one paramedic, known as Platoon 5, was dispatched to fight the fire. On arrival the fire crew reported there was "something wrong" as the fire was huge and produced "a crazy sound".
The first explosion, at about 18:07 local time (15:07 UTC), likely triggered by the stored fireworks, sent up a large cloud of smoke and a crackle of bright firework flashes, and heavily damaged the structure of the warehouse itself with a force equivalent to around 1.5-2.5 tons of TNT, the size of a mid-sized truck.
Final explosion.
The second explosion, 33 to 35 seconds later, was much more substantial and was felt in northern Israel and in Cyprus, away. It rocked central Beirut and sent a red-orange cloud into the air, which was briefly surrounded by a white condensation cloud. The orange-red colour of the smoke was caused by nitrogen dioxide, a byproduct of ammonium nitrate decomposition. 
By the next morning, the main fire that led to the explosion had been extinguished.
Yield.
Despite inefficient transmission of the shock waves into the ground, the United States Geological Survey measured the event as a 3.3 local magnitude earthquake, while the Jordan Seismological Observatory reported that it was equivalent to a 4.5 local magnitude earthquake. A study of seismic signatures of the explosion by the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources in Germany produced a yield estimate between 0.5 and 1.1 kt of TNT. Experts from the Blast and Impact Research Group at the University of Sheffield estimated that the explosion was one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions in history. Later, they were able to quantitatively support this rapid estimate as they compiled more distance versus time of arrival data as new videos of the explosion in Beirut became available on social media platforms. Their study found that a best estimate and upper bound prediction of the yield of the explosion are 0.5 and 1.12 kt of TNT, respectively. This is equal to around 1 GWh of energy. Another study used several videos of the explosion to describe the evolution of the fireball size and estimated the Beirut explosion yield to be 0.6 ± 0.3 kt of TNT. The Beirut explosion was similar to explosions of large amounts of ammonium nitrate in Tianjin, China, in 2015; in Texas City, United States, in 1947; or in Toulouse, France in 2001.
An independent estimate by the International Monitoring System of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization based on infrasonic data obtained an explosive yield equivalent to 0.5–1.1 kt of TNT.
Cause.
Warehouses in the port were used to store explosives and chemicals including nitrates, common components of fertilizers and explosives. The General Director of General Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, said the ammonium nitrate confiscated from "Rhosus" had exploded. The of ammonium nitrate was the equivalent to around . The failure to remove the materials from the warehouse and relocate them was attributed to mismanagement of the port, corruption of the government, and inaction of the flag registry's country and ship owner.
The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International said that, according to attendees of a Higher Defence Council briefing, the fire was ignited by workers welding a door at a warehouse. A former port worker said that "[t]here were 30 to 40 nylon bags of fireworks inside warehouse 12" that he had personally seen. An American diplomatic cable on 7 August said it "remains unclear ... whether fireworks, ammunition or something else stored next to the ammonium nitrate might have been involved" in worsening the warehouse fire and igniting the ammonium nitrate. A port worker said Warehouse 12 was "not in regular use", and that "those in charge only used to open the warehouse to stack inside it materials confiscated upon judicial orders or perilous products", though he had not seen this to include any armaments.
Casualties.
207 people were confirmed dead, and over 6,500 people were injured. Foreigners from at least 22 countries were among the casualties. Furthermore, at least 108 Bangladeshi nationals were injured in the blasts, becoming the most affected foreign community. Also, several United Nations naval peacekeepers who were members of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were injured by the blast. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that 34 refugees were among the dead and missing, and an additional 124 refugees were injured. At least 150 people became permanently disabled as a result of the explosion.
All ten members of Platoon 5 died at the scene of the blast. Nazar Najarian, the secretary-general of the Kataeb Party, died after suffering severe head injuries. French architect Jean-Marc Bonfils died after suffering serious injuries at his apartment in the East Village building in Mar Mikhaël. He had been live-streaming the fire at the warehouse on Facebook at the time. Lady Cochrane Sursock, philanthropist and matriarch of the Sursock family, died on 31 August from injuries sustained from the blast.
Damage.
The explosion overturned cars and stripped steel-framed buildings of their cladding. Within the port area, the explosion destroyed a section of shoreline and left a crater roughly in diameter and in depth. Homes as far as away were damaged by the blast, and up to 300,000 people were left homeless by the explosion. The grain silos were largely destroyed, exacerbating food shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and a severe financial crisis. About of grain were lost, leaving the country with less than a month's worth of grain in reserve. However, part of the silos' sturdy structure survived, shielding a large area of western Beirut from greater destruction.
The damage from the blast affected over half of Beirut, with the likely cost above $15 billion and insured losses at around $3 billion. Approximately ninety percent of the hotels in the city were damaged and three hospitals completely destroyed, while two more suffered damage. Dozens of injured people brought to nearby hospitals could not be admitted because of the damage to the hospitals. Windows and other installations of glass across the city were shattered.
Saint George Hospital, one of the city's largest medical facilities, was less than from the explosion, and was so badly damaged that staff were forced to treat patients in the street. Four nurses died from the initial blast, fifteen patients died after their ventilators stopped working, and several child cancer patients were injured by flying glass. Within hours, after discharging all its patients, and sending some to other facilities, Saint George Hospital was forced to close. The hospital's director of intensive care, Dr. Joseph Haddad, was quoted as saying: "There is no St. George Hospital any more. It's fallen, it's on the floor... It's all destroyed. All of it."
The Sursock Museum was severely damaged, as were many of its artworks, and some ceramics were completely destroyed. The atelier for the fashion house Sandra Mansour was heavily damaged by the explosion. Sursock Palace, a 160-year-old Beirut landmark that was listed as a cultural heritage site, also sustained heavy damage, as did its many artworks. The Armenian Catholicosate in Antelias sustained great damage. All the stained glass windows of the National Evangelical Church were blown out. The FIBA Asia headquarters was also heavily damaged. Embassies in and around Beirut reported varying degrees of damage to their buildings; the embassies of Argentina, Australia, Finland, Cyprus, and the Netherlands, which were close to the blast, sustained heavy damage, while minor damage was reported from the South Korean, Hungarian, Kazakh, Russian, Bulgarian, Romanian, and Turkish embassies.
Shipping.
The cruise ship "Orient Queen", berthed nearby, suffered extensive damage and capsized overnight. Two members of the crew were killed, and seven crew members were injured. On 7 August, the first lawsuit related to the explosions was filed by the ship's owners, Abou Merhi Cruises, whose offices were also destroyed.
The Bangladesh Navy corvette BNS "Bijoy", which participated in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, was also damaged. The ship was very close to the site of the explosion.
The edible-oil tanker ship "AmadeoII" was nearest to the explosion, which deposited the mangled remains of the ship on a nearby quay. Two large livestock carriers, "Abou KarimI" and "Abou KarimIII", laid up at the end of Berth 09, very close to Warehouse 12, were heavily damaged. "Abou KarimI" became unstable, keeled over onto the adjacent "Abou KarimIII" and shortly afterwards capsized. The livestock carrier and the cargo ships and were also close to the blast and suffered serious damage; AIS from these ships stopped broadcasting at the time of the explosion.
Hapag-Lloyd's offices in Beirut were destroyed. CMA CGM's offices, located a few hundred meters away from the site of the explosion, were severely damaged. One employee died and two were severely injured.
Airport.
Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport, the city's main airport, about from the site of the blast, sustained moderate damage to the terminal buildings during the explosion. Doors and windows were destroyed, and ceiling tiles were shaken loose by the shockwave, severing electrical wires. Despite the damage, flights continued.
Investigation.
The government formed an investigation committee led by Prime Minister Hassan Diab, which will submit its findings to the Council of Ministers of Lebanon by 11 August. The committee includes the justice, interior and defence ministers, and the head of the top four security agencies: the Army, General Security, Internal Security Forces, and State Security. The investigation is to examine whether the explosion was an accident or due to negligence, and if it was caused by a bomb or another external interference. President Aoun rejected calls for an international probe despite demands from world leaders.
On 5 August, the Council agreed to place sixteen Beirut port officials who had overseen storage and security since 2014 under house arrest, overseen by the army, pending the investigation into the explosions. In addition, the general manager of the port Hassan Koraytem and the former director general of Lebanon's customs authority Shafiq Merhi were arrested. Later, on 17 August, the incumbent director-general of Lebanon's customs authority Badri Daher was also arrested. Also, former ministers of both finance and public works are due to be interrogated by a judge appointed by the Lebanon's High Judicial Council. In the meantime, Lebanon's state prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat ordered a travel ban on seven individuals including Hassan Koraytem. On 12 August, Lebanon's caretaker Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najm commented on the investigation by saying: "Much of the criticism is warranted due to the slow pace of work and some politicisation, but this case is a chance for the Lebanese judiciary to prove they can do their jobs and win back the confidence of the people". On 19 August, a Lebanon judge ordered the arrests of more suspects over the explosion, making the total number of accused 25.
Lebanese judge Fadi Sawan, who has been responsible for the investigation, summoned former Minister of Transportation and Public Works Ghazi Aridi, Labor Ministers Ghazi Zaiter, Youssef Fenianos and Michel Najjar, General Director of the Lebanese State Security Tony Saliba, Director General of Lebanon's Land and Maritime Transport division, Abdul-Hafeez Al-Qaisi, and General Director of General Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim.
In September, Lebanon's state prosecution asked Interpol to detain two Russian citizens, the captain and the owner of "Rhosus", as its cargo of ammonium nitrate was blamed for the explosion. In January 2021, Interpol issued Red Notices against the two Russians as well as a Portuguese man.
In December 2020, Lebanon's outgoing Prime Minister Diab and three former ministers were charged with negligence over the Beirut port explosion. The former ministers were former finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil, Ghazi Zeiter and Youssef Fenianos, both former ministers of public works. Zeitar was transport and public works minister in 2014, followed by Fenianos in 2016, who held the job until the beginning of 2020. Khalil was finance minister in 2014, 2016 and until 2020.
On 28 January 2021, Syrian-Russian businessman George Haswani denied any links to the Beirut explosion. He told Reuters he did not know anything about a company linked to the process of buying a shipment of chemicals that exploded. In an interview with Reuters at his home in Damascus, Haswani said that he had resorted to the Cypriot company Interstatus to register his company, which is the same agent that registered the Savaru company, and that the agent company had moved the registration site of the two companies to the same address on the same day. However, Haswani said that he did not know anything about Safaru, and that any links between it and his company are just a coincidence, because the two companies have the same agent. As stated in previous reports, Reuters was unable to determine whether Haswani had anything to do with Safaru. Haswani said, "I don’t know what other companies are registered by this Cypriot company, five or three or 70 or more." "It is a fabricated media whirlwind. We don’t know Savaro and we hadn’t heard about them before this.," Haswani told Reuters, commenting on reports indicating his involvement in the explosion. Interstatus did not respond to a request for comment. Marina Psyllou, the director of the "Interstatus" company, was listed in the registration documents of the company (Savaru) as the only owner and director of the company, but she denied that she was the real manager of the company. He told Reuters in mid-January 2021 that the beneficial owner of the company was another person, whom she refused to identify. She added that Safaru was a dormant company that had never conducted business. Haswani said that he was not contacted by any investigators from Lebanon or any other country regarding the explosion, and that he will soon work to file a legal case in Paris against media reports linking him to the explosion. He continued, "I am living my life normally and laughing because I am someone who knows well that I have nothing to do with this matter at all. Why would I worry?"
On 15 April 2021, six detained people were released, including two officers, although they were not allowed to travel out of Lebanon.
Relief operations.
The Lebanese Red Cross said every available ambulance from North Lebanon, Bekaa, and South Lebanon was being dispatched to Beirut to help patients. According to the agency, a total of 75 ambulances and 375 medics were activated in response to the explosions. Lebanese President Michel Aoun said the government would make up to 100billion pounds (US$66million) in aid available to support recovery operations. The ride-sharing app Careem offered free rides to and from hospitals and blood donation centers to anyone willing to donate blood. Volunteers removed debris while local business owners offered to repair damaged buildings for free in the absence of a state-sponsored cleanup operation. A temporary hospital was established in the city by the Iranian Red Crescent Society.
Health Minister Hamad Hasan requested that international aid be sent to Lebanon; a number of countries sent in food, medical supplies, field hospitals, medical workers, and rescue teams. On 9 August, a multinational summit hosted by France raised 253 million euros in aid. The money pledged was not to be given to the Lebanese government, but rather to the people of Lebanon through the United Nations, other international organizations, and non-governmental organizations. On 14 August, a $565 million appeal for Lebanon was launched by the United Nations, including initial recovery efforts, as well as immediate humanitarian aid.
In the first week after the explosion, civilians gathered in hundreds to volunteer to clean up the debris on the streets and inside homes and businesses in Gemmayze, Achrafieh, and Karantina neighborhoods. Many civil society organizations offered equipment and food to the volunteers, while many residents and businesses opened their homes and hotels for free to those who lost their homes in the blast.
UNESCO played a leading role in the rescue and reconstruction of historic buildings, with Blue Shield International assessing the damage to houses, museums and libraries, and the International Council of Museums providing expertise. Blue Shield International, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon and the Lebanese Armed Forces have put together a project to secure and protect cultural assets. According to Karl von Habsburg, founding president of Blue Shield International, the protection of cultural property in Beirut is not only about securing buildings, but also about preventing looting and water damage, taking dangerous chemical substances into account. The efforts also included the restoration of schools.
Reactions.
Domestic.
Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced that 5 August, the day after the explosion, would be a national day of mourning. The Lebanese government declared a two-week state of emergency. President Aoun said the government would provide support to displaced people, and the Ministry of Health would meet the expense of treatment for the wounded. Marwan Abboud, the governor of Beirut, said he arrived at the scene to search for firefighters who were on the site attempting to control the fire that was raging before the second explosion. He broke down in tears on television, calling the event "a national catastrophe". Lebanese civilians from every region in Lebanon came to help by offering food, cleaning the streets, and helping NGOs.
Multiple members of the Lebanese parliament resigned in protest, including Marwan Hamadeh, Paula Yacoubian, all three Kataeb Party MPs, Neemat Frem, Michel Moawad, Dima Jamali, and Henri Helou. The Lebanese ambassador to Jordan, Tracy Chamoun, also resigned on live television. On the night of 6 August, the protests against the government that had been ongoing since the previous October resumed, with dozens of protestors near the parliament building calling for the resignation of Lebanese government officials. On 8August, Diab called for early elections, saying it would be the only way for the country to exit the crisis.
On 9 August, the information minister of Lebanon, Manal Abdel Samad and then environment minister, Damianos Kattar resigned, the first government resignations since the explosion. On 10 August, the justice minister, Marie-Claude Najm, also resigned, followed by the resignation of the entire Lebanese cabinet. Shortly after the resignation of the cabinet, Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab stepped down from office. President Michel Aoun accepted the resignation of the government and the Prime Minister, and asked the government to stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new cabinet is formed. Although Mustapha Adib was announced as the Prime Minister designate, he failed to form a new government and stepped down.
International.
Representatives of multiple countries, as well as the United Nations (UN), offered condolences. In addition to those countries which provided aid, others offered to do so. Notably, Israel offered aid via UN channels, as Israel and Lebanon have no diplomatic ties and are technically at war; the offer was refused by the Lebanese government. Despite years of conflict, including the 2006 Lebanon War, both Israel and senior Hezbollah officials ruled out Israeli involvement in the explosion, despite claims and allegations spread via social media.
The International Charter on Space and Major Disasters was activated on 5August, thus providing for widespread usage of various corporate, national, and international satellite assets on a humanitarian basis. Several countries expressed solidarity by lighting up landmarks and monuments in the colours of the Lebanese flag, including the City Hall of Tel Aviv, whereas the Eiffel Tower in Paris went dark at midnight, and the Arab League flew its flag at its headquarters in Cairo at half-mast. Some figures from the Israeli right-wing criticized the display of the flag of Lebanon, an "enemy state", in Tel Aviv. There was also backlash inside Lebanon against the Israeli gesture.
As a result of the explosion, concerns were raised about the storage of ammonium nitrate in other ports across the world. Large quantities of the chemical compound were removed from storage in Egypt, India, Romania, and Senegal.