IWTW ‘Explore’ is about highlighting different trends around the world and presenting audiences with both sides of the story in order to facilitate a better understanding of world issues and decision making in the spheres of the economy, society, environment, technology and politics.
What is it about?
At 6:08pm on 4th August 2020, 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded in the port of Beirut. The huge shock wave destroyed large parts of the city. 200 people died, over 6,500 were injured and hundreds of thousands of people were made homeless.
The fire brigade was called to Beirut port just before 6pm to extinguish a fire in a warehouse. They heard a strange crackling noise but were utterly unprepared for what happened next. It was a massive explosion, later estimated to be the equivalent of 1.1 kilotons of TNT. As a comparison, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima was the equivalent of 15 kilotons.
One year after the explosion, its exact cause has still not been explained. It’s also unclear who bears responsibility for the catastrophe. The whole government under Lebanese prime minister Hassan Diab had to step down – but is still in office in a caretaker role. No one has yet been held accountable. The film is an attempt to reconstruct the events.
Why should I watch it?
- More than 3.5 mln views since 3 aug 2021
- More than 42K likes
Full episode (by DW documentaries)
IWTW note: The opinions in the video don’t necessarily represent those of IWTW. The goal of IWTW ‘Explore’ is to inform its audience about interesting developments around the world through a selection of short and long documentaries. IWTW considers those documentaries to be great starting points for further discussion. I strive to update the selection of content should ‘better’ documentaries emerge over time.