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Beirut explosion created massive crater at port, satellite imagery shows

WION Web Team
Beirut, LebanonUpdated: Aug 06, 2020, 09:52 AM IST
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Blasts in Beirut Photograph:(Twitter)

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

A Colorado-based space technology company, Maxar, also shared pictures snapped by its satellites. 

Crater, as captured by a satellite

These satellite images show a massive crater at the site of Tuesday's explosion in Beirut's port. The images show nearly every building has either sustained significant damage or has been destroyed by the blast. Some barely have their framework still standing and others have been reduced to rubble.

A large, water-filled crater has replaced the ground where two port buildings stood.

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.

Destroyed Silo

According to Lebanon Prime Minister Hassan Diab, 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, exploded on Tuesday.

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.