2750 tons of saltpeter exploded in the port of Beirut: a Russian businessman brought it there - ForumDaily
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2750 tons of saltpeter exploded in the port of Beirut: it was brought there by a Russian businessman

As of the morning of August 5, as a result of two explosions that occurred on August 4, at least 100 people were killed in the port of the Lebanese capital of Beirut, more than 4 were injured, and several quarters of the city were completely destroyed. A large shipment of ammonium nitrate (also known as ammonium nitrate) exploded after being kept in the port without security measures for a long time, authorities said. Writes about it with the BBC.

Photo: Shutterstock

The port of Beirut has been completely destroyed. The governor of the city said that half of the city's buildings were damaged by the explosion. Glass and shop windows were broken not only in the quarters adjacent to the port, but also within a radius of 20 km. The blast wave was felt even in Cyprus - about 200 km from Beirut, writes "Focus".

Rescuers continue to search for more than a hundred people, whose fate is unknown. Some of the port workers were thrown into the sea by the explosion.

In Beirut, a state of emergency may be declared for two weeks during a government meeting. The country's Defense Council has already made an appeal to transfer control over security to the army during the emergency.

According to local media, the death toll could rise as people remain under the rubble.

One of the victims of the explosion was the famous Lebanese politician, secretary general of the right-wing Christian Kataib party, Nizar Najarian. The party largely expresses the interests of Lebanese Christians, opposing the Hezbollah movement and supporting the Syrian opposition. Najarian, who received numerous injuries from the blast wave, died in the hospital.

The ship with saltpeter belonged to a Russian businessman

Ammonium nitrate, which exploded in a port in Beirut, was confiscated from the Rhosus vessel back in September 2014. And the owner of this vessel was a Russian businessman Igor Grechushkin from Khabarovsk (Russia), writes "Glavcom".

Rhosus transported 2750 tons of saltpeter from Batumi to Mozambique. In September 2013, it made an unscheduled stop in Beirut due to a malfunction on board.

After checking the ship, the crew was forbidden to take it out of the port. The saltpeter confiscated from the vessel was stored in a warehouse at the 12th berth of the port of Beirut, it had to be disposed of. As the vessel was carrying dangerous cargo, the Lebanese authorities left four sailors on board to wait for the replacement crew.

The owner of this vessel is Russian businessman Igor Grechushkin, a native of Khabarovsk living in Cyprus. This is what the sailors who worked for Rhosus said. According to them, the owner said he went bankrupt and “essentially abandoned ship.” Lawyers for creditors received three arrest warrants for Rhosus, which flew the Moldovan flag.

“Initially, there were eight Ukrainian sailors on board,” said Natalya Klamm, executive director of the Odessa Assol Seamen Aid Fund. “After the sailors with our help turned to the Ukrainian consul, five of our compatriots were able to return home. To keep the vessel alive, four crew members remained on board: three Ukrainians and one Russian. " For a long time, the remaining crew members had to ask for help; they returned from Lebanon only a year later, writes "Mediazone".

“Due to the risks associated with storing ammonium nitrate on board the vessel, the port authorities moved the cargo to one of the warehouses onshore,” noted the lawyers involved in the Rhosus case. “The ship and its cargo remained in port awaiting sale or disposal.”

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According to the MarineTraffic service, which last recorded the location of Rhosus in 2014, the vessel was indeed near berth 12 where the explosion occurred.

On the thematic forums of seafarers, there are repeated negative reviews about the ship owner Igor Grechushkin and his company Teto Shipping Ltd: seafarers write about salary delays and the poor condition of the ship. Teto Shipping Ltd was incorporated in the Marshall Islands in 2012 and ceased to exist in September 2014.

What is ammonium nitrate

Ammonium nitrate, also known as ammonium nitrate, is widely used as a nitrogen fertilizer and as an explosive.

It is especially explosive on contact with combustible materials and open fire. After the explosion of ammonium nitrate, toxic gases, including nitrogen oxides and ammonia, can be released into the atmosphere.

Since this substance is especially dangerous, strict requirements are imposed on its storage conditions. One of them is that the room where ammonium nitrate is located must be fireproof; it is prohibited to install any pipes, hoods or other ducts where explosive substances can accumulate.

Experts say that the red smoke that was visible over the port after the explosion may also indicate that it was an ammonium nitrate explosion.

The explosion, according to preliminary information, occurred during welding work, which was supposed to block access to the inside: sparks ignited some firecrackers, also stored in the warehouse, and then 2 tons of nitrate detonated.

What eyewitnesses say

“I saw the fire, but it was not yet clear that there would be an explosion. We went inside. Suddenly I went deaf because, apparently, I was very close. For a few seconds I suddenly stopped hearing - then it became clear that something had happened,” says Hadi Nasrallah. “And then suddenly glass started falling in the cars next to us. And in neighboring cars, shops and houses too. There was just glass falling from everywhere.”

“Almost all over Beirut, people were calling each other from areas in different parts of the city - and everywhere it was the same: windows were broken, buildings were shaking. A loud explosion,” says the witness. “We were shocked because usually when this happens, the consequences of the explosion are felt only in one area. And this time - throughout Beirut, even outside the city,” says the witness.”

“We arrived in Beirut by car in the early evening, when it was not yet dark, and there was absolute chaos everywhere. The streets are full of broken glass. It was difficult for ambulances to get through - there were bricks and concrete blocks everywhere. Entire houses collapsed, says journalist Sunniva Rose. — When we approached the port, it became clear that it was cordoned off by the military. They told us to stay away because there might be another explosion."

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“Smoke rose over the port until late in the evening. The whole city turned black. It was very difficult to walk the streets: we met bloody people. I saw a doctor treating an 86-year-old woman; he had just run out of his house with a first aid kit. The cars were completely destroyed by stones,” Rose says. — In my own apartment, all the windows are broken too. The scale of the damage is simply incredible."

Trump thinks it's an attack

US President Donald Trump does not believe that the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, was an accident. He believes that this is the result of an attack and a bomb explosion, he writes "Glavcom".

The head of the White House said this at a briefing.

Trump said he talked about it with some generals, and they told him that the Lebanese capital was attacked with "some kind of bomb."

“It looks like an attack based on the nature of the explosion. I met with some of our generals, and it seems to them that this is an attack, and not some kind of explosion at a factory. All this looks, in their opinion, like an attack. It was some kind of bomb,” Trump said.

But the leadership of the US Army said they had no information that the explosion in Beirut was due to an attack from outside.

Trump's words were denied by three Pentagon officials who wanted to remain anonymous.

One of the military said that if there was information about the attack, then measures would be taken to protect the American army, which is in the region.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

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