A large explosion has rocked Beirut

[Del Tachi]

Pretty dramatic video.

https://twitter.com/AbirGhattas/status/1290671474269986822

The explosion comes as a UN tribunal is due to issue its verdict in the trial of four, Hezbollah-backed suspects in the murder of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri and rising social unrest and street demonstrations in the country.  However, the cause of the explosion remains unknown. 

There are unconfirmed reports of a second explosion in the city, near the Hariri residence. 

[Zinneke]

one of the most frightening explosions caught on camera in quite a while
it seems to be a fireworks factory - similar to the Twente explosion in the Netherlands all those years ago :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks5X0N8M_o8

[CumbrianLefty]

Oh dear, seems loss of life is inevitable.

[Helsinkian]

Brings to mind the Halifax explosion of 1917. That was caused by a fire on a munitions ship.

[afleitch]

https://mobile.twitter.com/JournalsmUntied/status/1290688458944544768

Second video here shows small explosions that suggest fireworks.

[Mike88]

Dear God!!

In this video, it's visible several explosions on the same time just before the big blast:

https://twitter.com/PriapusIQ/status/1290677516278038534

It looks like a fireworks factory/warehouse fire gone horribly wrong.

[Crumpets]

This reminds me of the explosion at that shipyard in China a few years back. albeit actually somewhat smaller. I don't think there's anything nefarious here beyond mismanagement and lack of proper regulations enforcement, but according to a friend with lots of contacts in Beirut, people there are already piling on the "it was Israel" bandwagon.

[Mr. Illini]

Horrifying. I am sure we will find out more about the cause in the coming days. For now just praying for the safety of all in Beirut.

[afleitch]

It's easy to locate on Google maps. It was one of the Beirut Port silos and the whole port was flattened. While the 'Charles Helou' freeway isn't blocked from the videos the blast has shattered buildings into the residential areas a few blocks in, including two hospitals and there's footage of that too.

Ship traffic websites are showing some vessels in the area; the 'Mero Star' tanker and the smaller 'Raoaf H' vessel hasn't shown a position since the explosion. They had just docked from the Ukraine from the city of Mariupol; I think technically not fully under their control. The specific silo on fire is one of those marked for general cargo, not hazardous cargo.

The Mero Star is, from what I can find, owned or contacted by BIA shipping.

https://www.balticshipping.com/vessel/imo/8321682

BIA shipping is registered in Romania but owned by a Syrian family. Google is your friend.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

The initial fire, which obviously included at least some fireworks, set off  a large secondary explosion. The secondary explosion was right next to the port's grain silos. That immediately led to the massive tertiary explosion as the grain silos - freshly shaken by the secondary explosion - ignited. That's my best guess.

[Crumpets]

https://twitter.com/timourazhari/status/1290710100697653248

[Reaganfan]

I'm assuming hundreds or thousands dead in Beirut. Those buildings and freeways vaporize.

[Tender Branson]

Wow this is bad ...

Looks like a nuke or hydrogen bomb exploded, but it was clearly something else.

[Orwell]

Anyone else think it could have been a gas main that explosion that set off something further?

[Crumpets]

Explosions of this scale aren't terribly uncommon (Tianjin; West, Texas; etc.). The striking thing about this one is how close it was to a busy and crowded part of the city. If this was something poorly stored fireworks, that seems like an unforgivable oversight.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Grain silos are still standing, so they didn't go up.
https://twitter.com/IntelCrab/status/1290707192249823237

As Crumpets points out, there are now pretty credible reports that someone was storing a great deal of amonium nitrate

Dozens killed, thousands wounded in Beirut blast

Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reporting from Beirut said the head of General Security, General Abbas Ibrahim, visited the site of the explosion and said it appears the explosion was caused by highly explosive material that was stored in a warehouse.

This is devastating to Lebanon on a scale not usually seen outside of war. Thousand of casualties, immense damage to the heart of Lebanon's economy, and it's going to hit a nation already in economic crisis with ongoing food shortages very, very hard. The people of Lebanon are going to need help from the world, from the UN and nations down to individuals like us, if they're going to have any hope of avoiding becoming a failed state.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Wow, that looked like military grade explosives.

[Lambsbread]

Holy sh*t these videos are insane. Wow. Absolutely devastating.

[Storr]

Ammonium Nitrate is what Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber used as his the main explosive in his bomb. Obviously what happened in Lebanon involved many times more than what he used. Storing large amounts of a volatile explosive in the middle of a major city....was a bad idea.

[fluffypanther19]

I was at a loss for words after seeing the footage. Just praying for the people of Lebanon right now. Holy sh!t

[Silent Hunter]

At least 60 dead so far.

A Lebanese official is saying that 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate was involved. At an equivalent effectiveness of 42% of TNT, you are basically talking 'small nuke' equivalent.

A lot of injuries seem to have been through flying glass. Judging by the time of day, I'd guess most people were indoors and so that will have made things a bit less bad in the further out locations.

[Crumpets]

I simply cannot fathom the level of incompetence that allowed ammonium nitrate to be stored next to what appears to be either a fireworks or some other kinds of highly-flammable material warehouse in the middle of a busy port right across the street from a downtown area.

[Crumpets]

Some more background on the origin of the ammonium nitrate at the port.

https://twitter.com/UpdatesLebanese/status/1290736426733142019

[It’s so Joever]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/middleeast/live-news/lebanon-beirut-explosion-live-updates-dle-intl/index.html

The US Embassy is urging residents to wear masks due to potential toxic fumes. This is definitely some serious s**t. Lebanon already was in a precarious position before, I can only imagine this will further hurt the country.

That being said, if the current theories hold, this shows an inexcusable level of stupidity by the port authorities.

[Crumpets]

Warmonger.

https://twitter.com/jenanmoussa/status/1290786202451402752