2750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored at Beirut warehouse at centre of explosion

As Lebanon reels from an enormous explosion, its leader has revealed a disturbing fact about the warehouse at the centre of the blast.

As Lebanon reels from a major explosion that has killed dozens and injured thousands, the nation’s Prime Minister has revealed a disturbing fact about the warehouse at the centre of the blast.

The explosion erupted in the Beirut’s port area late afternoon on Tuesday, with videos showing a fire burning in a building in the area before an enormous blast.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab said 2750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate were being stored in a warehouse for years. He said this was “unacceptable”.

“I will not rest until we find the person responsible for what happened so we can hold them to account and impose the most severe punishment,” Mr Diab was quoted as saying by an official Twitter account.

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A helicopter puts out a fire at the scene of an explosion at the port of Lebanon's capital Beirut. Picture: STR / AFP

“It is unacceptable that a shipment of 2750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate has been present for six years in a warehouse, without taking preventive measures and endangering the safety of citizens”.

Author and former spy Aimen Dean took to Twitter and said that, given his knowledge of knowledge and experience with ammonium nitrates explosives, the warehouse was a “massive time bomb”.

“What happened in Beirut port today was nothing short of criminal negligence,” he said. “You can’t store ammonium bitrates in hot and damp conditions for 4 years, it was a massive time bomb.”

LBCI: 2,700 tons ammonium nitrate exploded in Beirut port.

In the 1995 Oklahoma Timothy McVeigh used 2 tons of ammonium nitrate to blow up the Federal Building. 168 people killed. pic.twitter.com/dCktpgdYB4

— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) August 4, 2020

Local media reports indicate the chemicals were seized from a sinking ship more than a decade ago.

Although it is not yet clear how the fire leading to the explosion started, US President Donald Trump said it appeared to be a “terrible attack.”

“We have a very good relationship with the people of Lebanon and we will be there to help. It looks like a terrible attack,” Mr Trump told reporters at the White House.

“I’ve met with some of our great generals and they just seem to feel that this was not some kind of manufacturing explosion type of an event ... They seem to think it was an attack. It was a bomb of some kind.”

REPORTER: Are you confident the #Beirut explosion was an attack?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: "...I've met with some of our great generals & they seem to feel that it was." --- "They would know better than I would. They seem to think ... it was a bomb of some kind, yes." pic.twitter.com/2MjVRqAoKE

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) August 4, 2020

The explosion in Beirut is reminiscent of the destruction inflicted on the Chinese city of Tianjin by a 2015 warehouse disaster that killed more than 170 people and left hundreds injured. Ammonium nitrate was also involved in that explosion.

Chinese authorities claimed the first explosion had been triggered after the heat of summer caused a highly flammable compound called nitrocellulose to spontaneously catch fire. Nearby stores of ammonium nitrate then caught fire and exploded.

Beirut’s explosion yesterday killed at least 73 people — including one Australian — and thousands have been injured, and the number of fatalities is expected to skyrocket.

The blast tore down buildings, flattened houses, ripped balconies from apartments, tossed cars from the nearby motorway, and sent a huge plume of smoke billowing across the city.

The disaster comes amid a difficult period for Lebanon, which was already suffering under a number of major crises.

Tensions are so high in the Middle East that Israel immediately issued a statement saying it was not involved in the blast.

This picture shows a destroyed silo at the scene of an explosion. Picture: Marwan Tahtah / AFP

Iranian-backed Hezbollah also quickly shot down theories that the explosion was related to a weapons facility or an Israeli strike.

“This tragic catastrophe and the unprecedented damage it has created … require solidarity and unity from all Lebanese people, political forces and national actors,” a statement from Hezbollah said.

Residents in Lebanon were suffering under massive inflation and struggled to buy basic goods in some areas — and that was before the pandemic hit.

The government was limiting daily electricity to just two to four hours a day and the nation’s currency plunged 80 per cent.

Tensions are also high ahead of Friday’s verdict in a trial over the killing of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005.