- [Narrator] Explosion in Beirut
and other news events.
Hey everybody, welcome to
the "Let's Teach" channel
where we research interesting facts
and share information
on just about any topic.
2020 is shaping up to be
a rather eventful year,
we have the COVID-19 global
pandemic on our hands
along with a whole host
of other world shattering incidents.
Here are the top news stories
that made waves this month,
it's our Monthly News Rewind.
(upbeat music)
"The Beirut Explosion".
What happened?
On the afternoon of August 4,
the capital of Lebanon,
Beirut was rocked by
two massive explosions
that happened seconds
right after the other.
The United States Geological Survey
recorded these explosions
as a seismic event
with a magnitude of 3.3
and one that was felt by
neighboring countries,
including Turkey, Syria and Israel
even reaching some parts of Europe,
residents of Cyprus,
located 160 miles (250 km) away,
reportedly heard the blast
which is now considered
to be one of the most powerful
non-nuclear explosions in history.
the cause?
According to Prime Minister Hassan Diab,
the explosions were caused
by approximately 2750 metric tons
of ammonium nitrate,
a highly explosive material
that had sat in a port
warehouse for six years.
It had been allegedly confiscated
by Lebanese authorities
from a Russian-owned ship,
stored without preventative measures.
Unfortunately, this warehouse was located
just a few minutes away
from the city's shopping
and nightlife districts.
Later, documents were uncovered
showing that the Director
of Lebanese Customs,
Badri Daher had been
notifying the government
for years about the extreme danger
that the ammonium nitrate posed,
however, his warnings were ignored
and left unheeded.
The aftermath?
The explosion sent a
massive wave of devastation
across the city, overturning cars
and stripping steel-framed buildings.
It created roughly 407
ft (124 m) in diameter
and 141 ft (3 m) in depth was left
on the port's area shoreline.
In the end, a total of 180 people
were confirmed dead
with an additional 30
others declared missing
or unaccounted for.
Over 6000 people were injured,
among them hundreds of foreigners
from at least 22 countries.
Notable individuals who lost their lives
in the tragedy include Nazar Najarian,
the secretary-general of the Kataeb Party
and the French architect
Jean-Marc Bonfils.
More than that, though,
the blasts were said
to have cost somewhere
between 10-15 billion
dollars in property damage,
leaving around 300,000
of the city's residents homeless.
On August 10th, Prime Minister Hassan Diab
and the entire Lebanese cabinet resigned
after mounting political pressure
and huge backlash from the public
who had taken to the streets
in protest in the days
following the protests.
"The Maryland Explosions".
What happened?
On August 10th, an occurred
in Baltimore, Maryland,
where it was designated
by local firefighters
as a major three-alarm incident,
over 200 respondents
from three fire departments as well
as the Maryland State
Fire Marshal Bomb Squad,
responded to the scene,
helping clear away debris
and recover victims from the rubble.
(upbeat music)
the cause?
Preliminary investigations revealed
that the explosion was
due to a natural gas leak,
which was reportedly
becoming increasingly common
in Maryland,
in August last year,
another natural gas explosion
had destroyed a portion
of a shopping center
located in Columbia, Maryland.
Further investigations
are currently ongoing.
The aftermath?
One woman was declared dead at the scene
while six other people were rushed
to nearby hospitals
after sustaining grave injuries,
about three rows of homes were destroyed,
leaving many trapped in the wreckage.
Following the explosion,
the Baltimore Gas and
Electric Company (BGE) stated
that they were working to turn off gas
to nearby buildings,
allowing the authorities to safely proceed
with their investigations.
Air India Crash,
What happened?
On August 7th, Air India
Express Flight 1344
was attempting to land
at Kozhikode Calicut International Airport
located in the South
Indian state of Kerala,
however heavy rain and tailwind
rendered their first two
attempts unsuccessful.
Unfortunately, the third
one proved to be fatal,
the massive Boeing 737 had
been flying from Dubai,
the United Arab Emirates
to Kozhikode, India
as part of the Vande Bharat Mission,
an evacuation program initiated
by the country's government
to repatriate Indian nationals
who found themselves stranded abroad
when the COVID-19 global pandemic
and the subsequent border closure hit.
At the time, though,
inclement weather conditions
had reduced visibility
so much so that the pilot,
Captain Deepak Sathe
was forced to abort his
first landing attempt
and requested a different runway to do so.
His third attempt saw the
aircraft failing to stop
before the end of the runway
and plunging into a deep gorge,
a massive impact that split its fuselage.
The absence of a post-crash blaze
suggested that the crew had shut off
the engines upon landing
in a bid to prevent a
fire, saving more lives.
The cause?
While inclement weather was to blame
for the accident, it's important to note
that the Kozhikode Calicut
International Airport
is considered to be
one of the most dangerous
airports in India,
designated as a "critical airfield"
by the country's Directorate General
of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
In fact, records show
that the Captain Mohan Ranganathan,
a member of the Safety Advisory Committee
of the Ministry of Civil Aviation,
had cautioned in 2011
against using the airport
during wet weather, due
to the runways inadequate
end safety areas,
as well as the presence of down-slopes.
The aftermath?
residents of the nearby
Karipur village rushed
to the scene of the crash,
rescuing trapped victims
from the mangled aircraft,
they supported a total of 40 personnel
from the Central Industrial
Security Force (CISF),
a quick reaction team,
the Chief Airport Security Officer
and local police and firefighters,
the fight's 190 passengers
and crew were all rescued
and evacuated within three hours,
taken to nearby hospitals to get treatment
for their injuries.
The crash left at least 18 people killed,
including both pilots
and over 150 others suffering
from grave injuries.
It was forecasted to
cost Air India's insurers
a total of 53 million dollars
with the governments of both India
and the state of Kerala
promising financial compensation
to the families of the deceased
(upbeat music)
as well as to those who were injured
ranging from $700 to $1400,
medical expenses were also borne
by the government of Kerala.
(upbeat music)
SpaceX Splashdown,
what happened?
The world-renowned aerospace manufacturer
and space transportation
service company, SpaceX
has majorly disrupted the industry,
launching relatively low-cost
and reusable rockets.
On August 2nd, they once again managed
to make a name for themselves
by safely bringing astronauts
back home from space.
The SpaceX Dragon capsule
gently splashed down
on the waters of the Gulf of Mexico
just off the coast of Florida.
Its passengers were NASA astronauts,
Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken,
both of whom had spent the past two months
working on the
International Space Station.
The significance?
The last time a splashdown had occurred
was back in 1975,
right when the Apollo's era was ending,
after NASA astronauts rendezvoused
with Soviet cosmonauts.
Since then NASA no longer flies
its own astronauts to and from space
rather, companies like SpaceX
do the dirty work for them.
The return from space
is an extremely dangerous process
and this splashdown
had been SpaceX's first attempt to do so.
The company had only run
tests with a mannequin
and not live astronauts before.
With the success however,
SpaceX has ushered in yet another era
of space exploration.
Well, as we begin a new month,
I wanna thank everyone
for supporting the channel,
the goal of the channel
is to simply bridge
the gap between curiosity and knowledge.
So I sincerely appreciate
the time you've taken
to watch any video
that piqued your interest this month.
With that said, stay curious, stay safe
and I'll see you in the next one.
(upbeat music)
