SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 27 April 2024, Saturday |

Part of Beirut silo complex collapses as port blast anniversary nears

Part of the Beirut port grain silos fell on Sunday afternoon, sending a vast cloud of dust and smoke into the sky, nearly two years after a catastrophic bomb killed more than 215 people and seriously damaged the port, local media reported.

For approximately three weeks, a fire has been burning in the northern portion of the silos, emitting an orange glow visible at night from adjacent neighborhoods, and Lebanese officials warned last week that part of the silos may collapse.

There were no reports of deaths or injuries at the time.

The fall occurs four days before the two-year anniversary of the explosion, which takes place on August 4, 2020.

The disaster, which was fueled by a massive chemical storage that had been stored at the port for about seven years, injured hundreds and destroyed the eastern section of the city, displacing tens of thousands of people.

Residents have said that the port’s weeks-long fire has re-ignited the trauma of the explosion, for which no one has yet been held guilty.

According to officials, the fire in the silos was tough to put out and happened organically as a consequence of left-over wheat fermenting and igniting.

    Source:
  • Reuters
  • Sawt Beirut International