Seconds from Disaster

[sarit11]

3. The Bomb in Oklahoma City


is the 3rd episode of Seconds from Disaster, trying to understand how did a truck bomb destroy such a big building.

Plot

In retaliation against the U.S. government, Timothy McVeigh plants a bomb inside a Ryder truck in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Minutes later, it explodes, destroying the back of the building and killing 168 people (which includes some children inside Alfred P. Murrah's childcare center on the first floor).


How the back of the building collapses

 
The aftermath of the bombing, taken from a helicopter
When the truck explodes, it first destroys Column G20, the third column on the left directly next to the truck. Later, the shockwave blasts through the first-floor lobby and travels through the stairwell, destroying the 1st four floors supporting the building, eventually collapsing the office building.