New narrative emerging regarding the Beirut blast.

[FordGT90]

The initial reports were that "fireworks" were going off. If you listen to any footage of it before it detonated, it sure does sound like fireworks. That's what needs to be investigated but...the problem is...that detonation was so powerful, there's virtually nothing left in the way of evidence: physical nor witness. The only hope, really, is if there were some security cameras uploading their feed off site.

[BigElCat]

Originally Posted by FordGT90

The initial reports were that "fireworks" were going off. If you listen to any footage of it before it detonated, it sure does sound like fireworks. That's what needs to be investigated but...the problem is...that detonation was so powerful, there's virtually nothing left in the way of evidence: physical nor witness. The only hope, really, is if there were some security cameras uploading their feed off site.

I'll link the video in which you can see the fireworks, if I can find it. It showed the open walled building, too.

The fireworks were all aerial burst flashbangs. And there was a proverbial / literal 'truckload' of them stored under the same metal roof as the fertilizer.

Posted the video on AudioKarma, but they had to pull the thread because it was too contentious.

Found a different one; a shorter clip of the video I was talking about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNDhIGR-83w

[BigElCat]

This one is amazing, what burns for 8 minutes prior to the blast ? Put this on large screen, if you have one.

The color of the smoke suggests an accelerate like kerosene was dumped on a large wood pile. First it's black and billowing. Then it goes grey / white like a wood fire. This is outside, to the far end of ammonium nitrate shed. It gets to the shed, then the fireworks go off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-vGkIKxGAg

[Waggs098]

This is the closest video. Difficult to find now. The video must end after the first explosion.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost....-up-close/amp/

[BigElCat]

Regarding means and motive.

It could have been Hezbollah.

The investigators should look into their 'whereabouts' prior to the blast.

Did they suddenly withdraw from Beirut ?

[BigElCat]

Originally Posted by Waggs098

This is the closest video. Difficult to find now. The video must end after the first explosion.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost....-up-close/amp/

Interesting.

Shot from a vantage point that is now a crater. Cameraman is among the deceased. RIP.

It also shows a concrete block wall, where as, the video I posted shows an open wall on the side of down town Beirut.

[Waggs098]

Originally Posted by BigElCat

Interesting.

Shot from a vantage point that is now a crater. Cameraman is among the deceased. RIP.

It also shows a concrete block wall, where as, the video I posted shows an open wall on the side of down town Beirut.

Which video shows the open wall?

[BigElCat]

Originally Posted by Waggs098

Which video shows the open wall?

You can see the fireworks popping inside the building in this one.

Freeze it at :51 seconds and zoom in. There's no wall on this end. Cranes are supporting the roof along the side that faces the harbor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNDhIGR-83w

It was easier to see when this video was posted full length, not part of a news cast.

[FordGT90]

What that video shows is that the ammonium nitrate is on the south side of the warehouse (closest to the camera) and the fire started on the north side working its way down to it.

https://www.firerescue1.com/disaster...4P4SPn7er5lwY/

It auto-ignites at 300C...

Ammonium nitrate may explode, especially when subjected to confinement or high heat, but it does not readily detonate.

Advise for firefighters is to evacuate everyone from the "hot zone."

It was a subsonic blast...that's why it looks the way it does in the videos.


So...what I think happened is that something started a fire on the north side and it worked its way south, reaching 300C. This is what caused the "fireworks." It was actually ammonium nitrate reacting...but being lifted as it reacts by the heat which leads to the small explosions in the air. Eventually the fire got hot enough that one of those small explosions happened among the rest of the ammonium nitrate, and that detonation was sufficient enough to initiate the chain reaction throughout the rest of the ammonium nitrate causing the roughly 1.1 kt blast.


The only question is whether or not there was malice in the original fire at the north end of the building: was it an accident or was it intentional?

[BigElCat]

A little background...

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ammonium-...084311123.html

(edit 8-18-202; newly found video to add to the collection on this thread)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuduBHY_8Eo

Here's another one. You can see the fireworks up close.

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