For more than two weeks, a fire broke out in the most damaged part of the silos. This one rekindled the trauma of relatives of victims of the explosion of August 4, 2020, which had left more than two hundred dead and 6,500 injured.
Le Monde with AFP
An accident that occurs a few days from the second anniversary of the devastating explosion in this port. Part of the damaged grain silos from the port of Beirut collapsed Sunday July 31 following a fire. A cloud of dust covered the port after the collapse of two towers, found journalists from the France-Presse agency (AFP).
Army helicopters immediately flew over the sector to drop water and try to completely turn fire into the structure. “Two other laps are likely to collapse,” said the Minister of Public Works, Ali Hamiyé. More than two weeks ago, a fire broke out in the most damaged part of the silos, caused according to the authorities and experts by the fermentation of remaining cereal stocks, combined with high temperatures.
The fire rekindled the trauma of relatives of victims of the explosion of August 4, 2020, which left more than two dead and 6,500 injured and devastated from the entire districts of the Lebanese capital. The explosion had triggered in a warehouse sheltering hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored without precaution. Touched hard by the breath of the explosion, the grain silos of the port had partially collapsed.
need to evacuate the area and wear masks
Flames and smoke emerging since the beginning of the month of silos were always visible. After the fire, Prime Minister Najib Mikati warned this week that part of the silos was likely to collapse and called on the army and the management of disaster management to be “under alert” .
Some parts of the silos still contain some 3,000 tonnes of wheat and other cereals that could not be removed because of the danger of collapse, according to the authorities. The Ministries of the Environment and Health have issued recommendations for the public in the event of collapse of silos, in particular the need to evacuate the area, wear masks and close the housing windows.
In April, Lebanon had ordered the demolition of the silos, but the decision was suspended due to the opposition of relatives of the victims of the drama, who want to make it a place of memory. “I cried when I learned that silos had collapsed, told AFP Cécile Roukoz, who lost her brother in the explosion of August 4. We want them to stay in place as witnesses crime (…) and in memory of those who lost their lives without reason. “
The investigation into the causes of the drama of August 4, 2020 has been suspended for months due to political obstructions. Showed to finger for criminal negligence, the authorities are accused by the families of the victims and the NGOs of the torpedo to avoid charges.