A cloud of dust covered the port after the collapse of two of the 48 towers, AFP journalists reported. Army helicopters immediately flew over the area to drop water and try to completely extinguish the fire in the structure.
“Two other towers are in danger of collapsing,” Public Works Minister Ali Hamiyé told AFP.
return of trauma
More than two weeks ago there was a fire in the most damaged part of the silos, caused according to authorities and experts by the fermentation of the remaining grain stocks, combined with high temperatures.
The fire rekindled the trauma of the relatives of the victims of the explosion on August 4, 2020, leaving more than 200 dead and 6,500 injured and destroying entire neighborhoods of the Lebanese capital.
The explosion on August 4 was triggered in a warehouse that housed hundreds of tons of carelessly stored ammonium nitrate. Hit hard by the blast of the explosion, the port’s grain silos had partially collapsed.
Flames and smoke rising from the fire earlier this month in the silos are still visible.
3000 tons of wheat
Following the fire, Prime Minister Najib Mikati warned this week that part of the silos were in danger of collapsing and called on the military and the Disaster Management Directorate to be “on high alert.”
Parts of the silos still contain some 3,000 tons of wheat and other grains that could not be removed because of the danger of collapsing, officials said.
The Environment and Health Ministries have issued recommendations for the public in the event of a silo collapse, including the need to evacuate the area, wear masks and close the windows of dwellings.
a place of memory
In April, Lebanon ordered the demolition of the silos, but the decision was suspended due to opposition from the families of the victims of the tragedy who want to turn it into a place of memory.
“I cried when I found out that the silos had collapsed,” Cécile Roukoz, who lost her brother in the Aug. 4 explosion, told AFP.
“We want them to remain in place as witnesses to the crime (…) and in memory of those who lost their lives for no reason,” he added.
The investigation into the causes of the tragedy of August 4, 2020 has been suspended for months due to political obstruction. Pointed out for criminal negligence, the authorities are accused by relatives of the victims and NGOs of torpedoing her to avoid charges.
Source: BFM TV
