# StoryCast '21: EP 12/21 The Beirut Blast: Ghassan's story

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/unreliable-witness-storycast-573722/storycast-21-ep-12-21-the-beirut-blast-ghassan-s-story
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/unreliable-witness-storycast-573722/storycast-21-ep-12-21-the-beirut-blast-ghassan-s-story.md
Podcast: [Unreliable Witness | Storycast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/unreliable-witness-storycast-573722)
Published: 2021-08-02T03:00:17+00:00
Episode link: https://news.sky.com/story/storycast-podcasts-true-crime-and-murder-mystery-12041779
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/2c36762b-5725-4361-9bbb-54f28e6402a5.mp3?aw_0_1st.showid=b6cf3528-8036-4ac1-976b-616b44fe1004&aw_0_1st.episodeid=2c36762b-5725-4361-9bbb-54f28e6402a5
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/unreliable-witness-storycast-573722/episodes/storycast-21-ep-12-21-the-beirut-blast-ghassan-s-story
Duration seconds: 1091

## Resource

Ghassan Hasrouty wasn’t supposed to be working at Beirut’s port on Tuesday, 4th August 2020. He’d swapped shifts to allow him to attend an upcoming weekend trip with his wife and children. A senior manager, Ghassan had worked at the port for 38-years. He knew its rhythms well and anticipating that he may have to work through the night, he called home and asked for someone bring him a pillow and blanket. Around the same time Zein Ja’Far, Sky News' Middle East News Editor based in Beirut, was working from his apartment, less than half a mile away when he noticed smoke coming from the port. A fire was about ignite thousands of tonnes of ammonium nitrate, stored near Ghassan's workplace. The lives of the Hasrouty family, and Beirut’s two million residents were about to be changed forever. In 2021, Sky News is marking some of the century’s biggest news events through the personal stories of lives defined by unforgettable moments from the last 21-years. Episode 12 of the 21-part series is The Beirut Blast: Ghassan’s story. *StoryCast '21 returns in September 2021, with an extended episode to mark the 20th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. CREDITS The Beirut Blast: Ghassan’s story was written and produced by Rob Mulhern with Zein Ja’Far. Special thanks to Eli and Tatiana Hasrouty Research and Digital by Tom Gillespie Presented by Jayne Secker Sound Design, Rob Mulhern TV treatment, Victoria Hudson-Grant Head of Radio, Sky News, Dave Terris Design and graphics, Brian Gillingham Social media, Chris Scott Press and Marketing, Alexandra Horton Email: storycast@sky.uk For more on this story log on to www.skynews/storycast21 #StoryCast21

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/unreliable-witness-storycast-573722/episodes/storycast-21-ep-12-21-the-beirut-blast-ghassan-s-story/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/unreliable-witness-storycast-573722/storycast-21-ep-12-21-the-beirut-blast-ghassan-s-story.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.