"용접 작업하다 불 붙어"...레바논 대폭발 사고에 각국 구호 손길<br /><br />Earlier this week, a huge explosion rocked Lebanon's capital Beirut,... when a port warehouse containing massive amounts of a highly explosive material triggered the deadly blast.<br />Officials there are gathering information on how the explosion might have occured.<br />Lee Seung-jae reports.<br />At least 145 people dead,... around 5-thousand injured,... and dozens more still missing.<br />The deadly blast that rocked the Port of Beirut on Tuesday left an unimaginable scene of destruction.<br />While the cause of the blast is still being investigated,... some answers might be emerging.<br />According to officials,... the main cause of the explosion was the 2-thousand-750 tons of ammonium nitrate that was stored in a warehouse for six years.<br />However,... according to local media and a security source,... welding work being carried out on a hole in the warehouse caused a fire,... eventually triggering the deadly blast.<br />The U.S. embassy in Beirut has released a statement advising people to wear masks and stay indoors,... due to reports of toxic gases being released in the explosion.<br />The material that caused the deadly blast is ammonium nitrate,... a common industrial chemical used mainly as fertilizer.<br />It's also one of the main components in explosives used in mining.<br />While it's not explosive on its own,... it can ignite under the right circumstances.<br />Explosions can release toxic gases including nitrogen oxides and ammonia gas.<br />While condolences have rolled in from around the world,... French President Emmanuel Macron paid a visit to Lebanon,... and promised aid to the blast-stricken nation.<br />He added that a fully transparent international investigation was needed,... and the Lebanese government must implement economic reforms and stamp out corruption.<br />Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.<br />
