The Beirut mega-blast: a reconstruction of the timeline of an avoidable tragedy
By Forensic Architecture and Mada Masr
On August 4th this year, a huge explosion ripped through the port of the Lebanese capital Beirut and the surrounding city neighbourhoods, killing more than 200 people, wounding more than 6,500 others and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. It was so powerful that the shockwaves and tremors it caused were recorded hundreds of kilometres away. Now, London-based independent research group Forensic Architecture has produced a remarkable video report with 3D imaging, using documented evidence and expert input, to piece together a precise chronology of the multiple causes of the explosion, and which Mediapart presents here.
It was very shortly after 6pm on August 4th when a huge explosion devastated the port and surrounding city neighbourhood of the Lebanese capital Beirut, killing more than 200 people, wounding more than 6,500 others and leaving an estimated 300,000 inhabitants homeless. It was so powerful it caused ground tremors hundreds of kilometres away, notably in Israel, Syria and Turkey, and even shook the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.
