Pope Leo stopped by the site of the powerful chemical explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed 218 people and injured 7,000 in August 2020. He held a moment of silent prayer in front of the memorial for the victims. NBC News' Claudio Lavanga reports. | NBC News

On August 4, 2020, a catastrophic explosion devastated the port of Beirut, Lebanon. The disaster was caused by the detonation of approximately 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been improperly stored in a port warehouse for six years. The sequence of events began with a fire in a warehouse adjacent to the one containing the ammonium nitrate. The fire spread, leading to a series of initial explosions, and then the massive detonation of the ammonium nitrate stockpile at 6:08 PM local time.