Disasters & Accidents

Another section of Beirut port’s grain silos collapses

Beirut, Aug 23 (EFE).- The northern part of the grain silos at Beirut port, rocked by a massive explosion two years ago, collapsed on Tuesday after it caught fire several weeks ago.

A military source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Efe that all that remained standing on the northern section of the silos following the deadly blast two years ago had fallen down.

Images broadcast by Lebanese television showed a large cloud of dust spread across the port area after the collapse.

A fire has been smoldering for about five weeks in the remnants of the giant silos, reminiscent of the 2020 blast that caused immense damage across the city, due to the fermentation of the wheat and corn stored inside.

The northern part of the silos had suffered several partial collapses in recent weeks, one of them was on the second anniversary of the explosion that struck Beirut’s port on August 4, 2020, and killed over 200 people and injured 6,500 others.

According to the government, pouring water would create more humidity and favor the fermentation process of the grain, while trying to transfer the 3,000 tons of wheat and corn stored in the silos would be too dangerous for the teams due to the threat of collapse.

Lebanese authorities decided in April to tear down the silos but relatives of the victims and civil society groups have called on the government to preserve them to remind people of one of Lebanon’s worst tragedies.EFE

amo-njd/smq/jt

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