Toulouse chemical factory explosion

On 21 September 2001, an explosion occurred at the AZF fertiliser factory in Toulouse, France, belonging to the Grande Paroisse branch of the Total group.Three hundred tonnes of ammonium nitrate was stored in hangar 221 222. The entire factory was destroyed, making a crater with a depth of about 7 metres and a diameter of 40 metres . Steel girders were found 3 kilometres away from the explosion. The blast measured 3.4 on the Richter scale, with an estimated power equivalent to 20-40 tons of TNT. The explosion was heard 80 km away. Due to the acoustics of the hills and the large sound, the explosion was reported as occurring in multiple places. Police at first believed that at least five bombs had simultaneously gone off. There is still controversy over the exact number of explosions.

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