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| An aerial view of parts of the devastated Beirut port taken on Aug 7 shows the crater caused by the colossal explosion three days earlier of a huge pile of ammonium nitrate that had languished for years in a port warehouse. (Photo by= AFP) |
[아시아뉴스통신=레악카나 기자] The huge chemical explosion that hit Beirut's port, devastating large parts of the Lebanese capital and claiming over 150 lives, left a 43-metre (141 foot) deep crater, a security official said on Sunday (Aug 9). The blast on Tuesday, which was felt across the county and as far as the island of Cyprus, was recorded by the sensors of the American Institute of Geophysics (USGS) as having the power of a magnitude 3.3 earthquake.
The huge blast also wounded at least 6,000 people and displaced more than 300,000 from their destroyed or damaged homes. The revelation that the chemicals had languished for years like a ticking time-bomb in the heart of the capital has served as shocking proof to many Lebanese of the rot at the core of the state apparatus. Demonstrators on Sunday called for renewed anti-government rallies after a night of angry protests saw them storm several ministries before they were expelled by the army.
"The explosion in the port left a crater 43 metres deep," the Lebanese security official told AFP, citing assessments by French experts working in the disaster area. Qatari, Russian and German rescuers are also working at the port blast site.
