Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1276949
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 AUGUST 2020 EYEWITNESS Beirut destruction Satellite images show the scale of the damage caused by Tuesday's explosions in the Lebanese capital, with buildings miles from the port lying in ruin. The blast comes at a terrible time for Lebanon, which is on the brink of financial collapse. The port has been reduced to a deep crater surrounded by a smouldering wasteland, while buildings close to the point of origin of the explosion are severely damaged. Beirut is still counting the cost in lives and property from the massive explosion. Anger is growing in Lebanon at what appears to be an industrial accident that authorities foresaw and warned about for years before. The Lebanese government is currently investigating, but many in the country and internationally are calling for an independent probe. The trail begins nearly seven years ago, with a rickety ship leaving the eastern European state of Georgia, carrying a deadly load, that stopped in Beirut. The Rhosus, a Russian- owned, Moldovan-flagged merchant vessel departed from Batumi, Georgia en route to Mozambique carrying 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate in 2013. Lebanese customs officials were wary of the load that had come to rest in Beirut when it was stopped in its journey because of unpaid salaries. Despite warnings from Customs to the government about leaving the ammonium nitrate in the port, and a state security report submitted to the judiciary, the presidency and the intelligence and customs directorates warning of "the real danger arising from these materials", the deadly cargo stayed in a warehouse in the port.