Satellite Images Show Huge Craters at Beirut Port

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  • Satellite imagery and other aerial footage of the Port of Beirut are steadily emerging showing devastating damage from the explosion.
  • Satellite imagery that The War Zone obtained from Planet Labs shows that detonation left a crater in the dock and is now full of water.
  • The explosions also occurred right next to a set of grain elevators that held approximately 85% of the country’s grain stockpile.

Satellite images obtained by CNN from Planet Labs Inc., show a massive crater at the site of explosion in Beirut’s port, reports CNN.

The images show nearly every building has either sustained significant damage or has been been destroyed by the blast.

Read More: Lebanon explosion – Thousands injured across capital Beirut

Satellite imagery of the blast

The devastation wrought by the massive explosion in Beirut can be clearly seen in the images provided by satellites.

A SkySat spacecraft, operated by San Francisco-based company Planet, captured detailed imagery of the port of Beirut both before and after the blast.

Explosion causes a massive crater

Massive grain silos that sit in the middle of the peninsula are still standing. A large, water-filled crater has replaced the ground where two port buildings stood.

Every building to the immediate south of the port appears to have sustained significant damage. Some barely have their framework still standing and others have been reduced to rubble.

Damage from the explosion reached a peninsula directly east of the blast site. Not only has a building there been blown away, but a boat in front of it appears to have been blown onto its side.

Ammonium nitrate explosion

According to Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, exploded on Tuesday. Ammonium nitrate is a highly explosive material used in fertilizers.

  • The explosion killed dozens, injured thousands and blew out windows in buildings across Lebanon’s capital city.
  • The blast created a huge mushroom cloud and shockwave that was felt as far away as Cyprus, about 150 miles away. It registered as a magnitude 3.3 earthquake.

Read More: What we know about the Beirut blast

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Source: CNN