Roscosmos has prepared photos of the port of Beirut from space, despite not having received an official request. This was announced by Dmitry Rogozin, CEO of the state corporation, before signing a memorandum of cooperation between TASS and Roscosmos, which implies the creation of the agency's corpus delicti on the International Space Station.
"Today I signed a paper with a fairly detailed survey of the Lebanese leadership's request about the situation in Beirut regarding the explosions that took place there. It was addressed through the agency. The request itself did not come to us at Roscosmos, but we did a detailed analysis of what the port was like before the explosion from the archive and immediately after," Rogozin said.
He noted that this kind of information is of great value - it is needed to assess possible damage and understand what happened. "There is no alternative to this kind of footage," he stressed.
Roscosmos recalled that photos of the consequences of the explosion from the satellite "Canopus-B" were published in open sources as early as August 5, 2020. In turn, a source in the rocket and space industry told TASS that Dmitry Rogozin ordered to prepare corresponding materials.
Earlier, the Lebanese President's Office reported that President Michel Aoun officially requested from Russia satellite photos taken on the day of the explosion that took place in the port of the Lebanese capital in August 2020.
On August 4, 2020, a 1,500 ton TNT equivalent explosion occurred at Beirut's seaport. The explosion destroyed and damaged thousands of homes in the city and beyond, killing 219 people, 6.5 thousand were injured, more than 300,000 citizens were left homeless. According to the Lebanese Interior Ministry, the explosion was caused by a fire during welding works of over 2.7 thousand tons of ammonium nitrate stored in the warehouse.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS