Beirut: Six months after the explosions that scarred a city, in nine pictures

Six months after the devastating explosions tore the heart out of Beirut, the Lebanese capital, a ship lies on its side in the destroyed port area, surrounded by piles of detritus from the catastrophe

Credit: WAEL HAMZEH/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Six months after the Aug 4 blast that damaged much of the Lebanese capital, the scars of the explosion remain visible across Beirut.

The investigation into what happened has been brought to a virtual halt by the same political rivalries that have dogged the country for years.

What started as an investigation into how nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive fertiliser component, were stored in Beirut port for years, has taken a turn, wading into a web of murky international business interests in the explosives trade and global shipping.

While there are still few answers, the devastation wrought by the explosion has been captured vividly in new pictures taken from a drone from above the blast site and surrounding area.

A massive crater

The enormous explosion at the dockside warehouse left a crater 124 metres wide

Credit: WAEL HAMZEH/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

The port has since reopened to ships, though large parts are still totally destroyed

Credit: WAEL HAMZEH/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

 Grain silos bore the brunt 

Grain silos near the site of the blast absorbed many of the shockwaves and shielded West Beirut from worse damage

Credit: WAEL HAMZEH/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Tonnes of grain and corn spilled out of the silos after the blast and six months on flocks of birds are still feeding at the site

Credit: WAEL HAMZEH/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

There is no consensus about what to do with the ruined silos, under which bodies are still believed to be buried. Some Lebanese advocate leaving them as a memorial to those who died in the explosion

Credit: WAEL HAMZEH/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Levelled warehouses 

The blast flattened dozens of warehouses at the port, through which Lebanon imports most of its goods

Credit: WAEL HAMZEH/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Damaged vehicles are stored at the destroyed port area 

Credit: WAEL HAMZEH/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Meanwhile clean-up crews continue clearing the tonnes of wreckage strewn across the port

Credit: WAEL HAMZEH/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Traumatic memories remain fresh 

At least 6,000 were wounded in the blasts and many people have not yet returned home

Credit: Hussein Malla/AP

More than 200 people were killed in the blast, though authorities have never produced a definitive death toll, and six months on grieving relatives are still demanding answers

Credit: AFP

A still from a video shows the scale of the explosion, with a huge mushroom cloud rising over the city after the blast

Credit: Triangle News