Beirut's fire-damaged grain silos collapse after two weeks of burning

Just days before the second anniversary of a catastrophic explosion at the port of the Lebanese capital that destroyed the businesses and parts of the city, portions of Beirut's grain silos fell on Sunday. A cloud of dust blanketed Beirut's port, and two towers were believed to have fallen in the northern area of the severely damaged silos, where a fire has been raging for more than two weeks. The tragedy was captured on camera, with footage showing part of the silo collapsing and a huge dust cloud rising when debris hit the ground.

The building had mostly absorbed the force of the massive explosion that occurred at Beirut's port on August 4, 2020, killing over 200 people and injuring over 6,500 more. Large areas of the city's west were protected by the silos from the terrible consequences of the explosion, which was brought on by ammonium nitrate fertiliser that had been carelessly stored catching fire. According to authorities, Sunday's partial fall occurred almost two weeks after a fire broke out in the port's northern silos as a result of the fermentation of leftover grain inventories and extreme summer heat.

This week, the interim prime minister of Lebanon issued a cautionary statement. He cautioned employees, members of civil defence, and firefighters to maintain a safe distance from the site and instructed the troops to be ready. An intimidating 48-metre (157-foot) towering silo remnant that formerly had a capacity of more than 100,000 tonnes has come to represent the disastrous port disaster. Due to complaints, particularly those from the family of bomb victims who want the silos preserved as a memorial place, the government's April order to demolish them was put on hold.

From the beginning, political resistance to the Lebanese investigation into the explosion has been persistent and obvious. According to a statement released this week, authorities were unable to remove the approximately 3,000 tonnes of wheat and corn locked in the silos because doing so might hasten their collapse. The environment and health ministries urged public to leave the port area and wear masks close to the silos in case they fell.

(with inputs from agencies)