Satellite images show scale of destruction after Beirut explosions
New satellite images show the aftermath of explosions at a port that has left at least 135 people dead and thousands injured. An image taken by the satellite company BlackSky shows extensive damage at the port following the blasts that took place on Tuesday.
The incident was triggered when a fire in one section of the port reached an enormous cache of ammonium nitrate fertilizer that had been offloaded years earlier. The explosions were so massive that the US Geological Survey registered it as a magnitude 3.3 earthquake.
Several warehouses appear to be flattened and a cruise ship called the Orient Queen can be seen listing to one side, according to Allison Puccioni, an analyst and founder of Armillary Services, an independent firm partnered with BlackSky, NPR reported
In the image, debris can also be seen covering the main road over 1,000 feet south of the blast site, a sign of the explosion's force. And Puccioni says heavy damage extends for over half a mile into the city. The blast killed at least 100 people and injured thousands more.
The BlackSky image and an image by commercial company Planet show a plume of smoke or debris still rising from the site around 8 am local time Wednesday, over 12 hours after the explosions occurred.
