This was confirmed by investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), of the United States, who assured that a detonation of the original charge would have destroyed the entire Lebanese capital.

As the first anniversary of the August 4, 2020, disaster draws near, many questions remain unanswered, including how 3,725 tons of the explosive substance were poorly stored for so many years.

Experts said that the explosion was one of the largest non-nuclear detonations in history, with a death toll of 218 lives, 6,500 people injured and losses of billions of dollars.

The estimate by the FBI technicians is that some 552 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded that day, much less than originally declared.

The trajectory of the explosive material began in Georgia on a vessel leased by Russia that would take it to Mozambique, but the captain of the ship was ordered to make a stopover in Beirut, where he faced a legal dispute that prevented the vessel from leaving.

Subsequently, no one claimed the cargo, which over the years was at the expense of illegal thefts, thanks to which the damage did not go further.

jg/msm/arc