Part of the grain silos at the port of Beirut collapsed on Sunday afternoon, sending a huge cloud of dust and smoke into the sky, nearly two years after a massive explosion killed more than 215 people and severely damaged the port.
Key Points:
- The northern block of the silos collapsed on Sunday after what appeared to be an explosion, sending up thick gray dust.
- It was not immediately known if anyone was injured, but the port’s silo manager says everything is under control
- A fire in the northern block of silos has been burning since July
It was not immediately known if anyone was injured.
Assaad Haddad, general manager of Port Silo, told The Associated Press that “everything is under control,” but the situation has not calmed down yet.
Youssef Mallah of the Civil Protection department said other parts of the northern block of silos were at risk and other sections of the giant ruin could collapse.
The 50-year-old, 48-meter-tall giant silos withstood the force of the blast two years ago, effectively shielding the western part of Beirut from the blast that killed more than 200 people, injured more than 6,000 and it badly damaged entire neighborhoods.
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Rima Zahed, whose brother died in the 2020 explosion and who has been part of a survivors’ group lobbying for the preservation of the silos as a witness to the port explosion, blamed the government for not taking measures to put out the fire of the weeks.
“We were talking about this three weeks ago, but they chose to do nothing and leave it on,” he said.
“This shows the failure of the state.”
In July there was a fire in the north block of the silos due to the fermentation of the grains. Firefighters and Lebanese army soldiers were unable to extinguish the fire, which continued to burn for weeks, releasing odors into nearby towns.
The fire weakened the already fragile silo
Emmanuel Durand, a French civil engineer who volunteered for the government-commissioned team of experts, said the north block of the silo had been toppling since the day of the 2020 explosion, but the last fire had weakened its fragile structure, hastening a possible collapse.
When the fermenting beans caught fire in early July, Lebanese firefighters and soldiers tried to put out the fire with water, but withdrew after the humidity made it worse.
The Interior Ministry said more than a week later that the fire had spread, after reaching nearby power lines.
Civil Protection says other sections of the giant ruin are at risk of collapse. (Reuters: Mohamed Azakir)
The fire and the smell traumatizes the residents again
Residents who had survived the 2020 explosion said the fire and smell reminded them of their trauma.
Last week the Environment and Health ministries instructed residents living near the port to stay indoors in well-ventilated spaces.
The Lebanese Red Cross distributed K-N95 masks to those living nearby, and officials ordered firefighters and port workers to stay away from the immediate area near the silos.
Durand had been monitoring the silos from thousands of miles away using data produced by sensors he installed more than a year ago and updating a team of Lebanese government and security officials on developments in a WhatsApp group.
In several reports, he warned that the northern bloc could collapse at any moment.
Last week, the environment and health ministries instructed residents living near the port to stay indoors in well-ventilated spaces. (AP: Hassan Ammar)
Last April, the Lebanese government decided to demolish the silos, but suspended the decision after protests by the families of the victims and survivors of the explosion.
They claim that the silos may contain evidence useful for the judicial investigation and that they should serve as a reminder of the tragic incident.
The silos, barely standing, have since become an iconic structure in the heart of the devastated port, surrounded to this day by crushed vehicles and warehouses, and piles of rubble.
Sunday’s collapse of part of the northern section of the silos comes just days before the second anniversary of the 2020 explosion.
The Lebanese investigation has revealed that senior government and security officials knew about the hazardous material stored at the port, although no officials have been convicted so far.
The officials involved subsequently filed legal challenges against the judge leading the investigation, which has left the investigation on hold since December.
AP