AZF (French initialism for AZote Fertilisant, i.e. nitrogen fertiliser) was the name of a chemical factory near Toulouse, France, which exploded on 21 September 2001. In Spring 2004, a terrorist group adopted the same name and threatened the French government with bombings on railways.
On 21 September 2001, a huge explosion occurred in the AZF fertiliser factory in Toulouse, France, belonging to the Grande Paroisse branch of the Total group.
Thre...
More
AZF (French initialism for AZote Fertilisant, i.e. nitrogen fertiliser) was the name of a chemical factory near Toulouse, France, which exploded on 21 September 2001. In Spring 2004, a terrorist group adopted the same name and threatened the French government with bombings on railways.
On 21 September 2001, a huge explosion occurred in 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 (the maximum capacity was 2,000 tonnes) in the hangar #221. The whole factory was destroyed making a crater of depth 20 to 30 m (65 to 100 ft), with a diametre of 200 m (650 ft); steel girders were found 3 km 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 (50 miles). Due to the acoustics of the hills and the large sound, the explosion was reported as occurring in multiple places....
Less
