The northern block of silos toppled over after what sounded like an explosion, sending thick gray dust enveloping the iconic structure and the harbor next to a residential area. It was not immediately clear if anyone was injured. Assaad Haddad, the General Manager of Port Silo, told The Associated Press that “everything is under control” but that the situation has not yet subsided. A few minutes later, the dust settled and calm returned. However, Youssef Mallah, from the Civil Defense department, said other parts of the northern section of the silos were at risk and that other parts of the giant ruin could collapse. The 50-year-old, 48-meter (157-foot) high silos withstood the force of the blast two years ago, effectively shielding western Beirut from the blast that killed more than 200 people, injured more than 6,000 and caused extensive damage to entire neighborhoods. . In July a fire broke out in the north block of silos due to fermenting grain. Firefighters and Lebanese Army soldiers failed to put it out and it simmered for weeks, an unpleasant smell spreading around. The environment and health ministries last week issued instructions to residents living near the port to stay indoors in well-ventilated areas. The fire and the dramatic sight of the partially blackened silo revived memories and in some cases trauma for survivors of the giant explosion that ripped through the port on August 4, 2020. Many rushed to close windows and return indoors after the collapse on Sunday. Rima Zahed, whose brother died in the 2020 blast and who was part of a survivors’ group lobbying to preserve the silos as evidence of the blast at the port, accused the government of failing to act to put out the fire that took weeks. “We were talking about it three weeks ago, but they chose to do nothing and let it burn,” he said. “This shows the failure of the state.” When the fermenting grains caught fire earlier in July, Lebanese firefighters and army soldiers tried to put out the fire, but officials and experts told them to stop, fearing the added moisture from the water would worsen the situation. The interior ministry said more than a week later that the fire had spread after reaching some nearby power lines. The silos continued to smolder for weeks as the stench of fermented grain wafted into nearby neighborhoods. Residents and survivors of the explosion told the AP that seeing the smoking silos was akin to reliving the trauma of the port explosion. The environment and health ministries last week asked residents living near the port to stay indoors in well-ventilated areas. The Lebanese Red Cross distributed K-N95 masks to those living nearby, and officials ordered firefighters and dock workers to stay away from the immediate area near the silos. Emmanuel Durand, a French civil engineer who volunteered on the government-commissioned panel of experts, told the AP earlier in July that the northern part of the silo had been slowly tilting over time, but that the recent fire accelerated the rate and caused irreparable damage to the already weakened structure. He told the AP on Sunday that he had sent out warnings that other parts of the northern block could also collapse immediately. Durant monitors the silos from thousands of miles away using data generated by sensors he installed more than a year ago and updates a group of Lebanese government and security officials on developments in a WhatsApp group. He repeatedly warned that a collapse was imminent. Last April, the Lebanese government decided to demolish the silos, but suspended the decision after protests by families of victims and survivors of the explosion. They argue that the silos may contain evidence useful to the forensic investigation and should be a memorial to the tragic event. The blast at the port of Beirut was one of the biggest explosions in Lebanon’s troubled history. It comes less than a year after the uprising that rocked Lebanon, with hundreds of thousands protesting the country’s entrenched sectarian political parties. The explosion also precipitated Lebanon’s economic crisis, costing billions of dollars in damages and destroying thousands of tons of grain. Three quarters of the population now live in poverty. The silos, barely standing, have since become an iconic structure at the heart of the ruined port, surrounded to this day by broken vehicles and warehouses and piles of debris. Sunday’s collapse of a section of the northern section of the silos comes just days before the second anniversary of the 2020 explosion. Lebanon’s investigation revealed that senior government and security officials knew about the dangerous material being stored at the port, although no officials have been convicted so far. The officials involved then launched legal challenges against the judge presiding over the investigation, which left the investigation on hold since December.
