Ep 1. The Blast - The Russian and The Rhosus

On August 4, 2020 the heart of Beirut was ripped apart by a huge explosion caused by 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate detonating at the city’s port. The National’s Finbar Anderson was one of the thousands injured in the blast – hit by flying shards of glass in his own living room. In The Blast podcast he has traced the events of how that tragic day came to pass. In Episode 1 Finbar speaks to Boris Prokoshev, the captain of the ship that first brought the ammonium nitrate into Beirut port. Boris tells us his story of how he, The Rhosus and its cargo made the journey to Beirut and why they all got stuck there.