Before the anniversary of the bombing, a silo falls in Beirut, rekindling pain

BEIRUT, 31st of July — Grain silos at Beirut Port fell Sunday only days before the second anniversary of a large explosion that destroyed them, causing an explosion that killed more than 215 people and throwing dust into the air.
No one was hurt, at least not yet.

One of the tallest reminders of August 4, 2020’s horrific explosion in Lebanon started tilting at an increased pace last week, according to authorities there.
As Tarek Hussein, a Karantina resident who was out grocery shopping with his kid when the fall occurred, put it: “We recalled the explosion.” When he saw a few large pieces fall, “my kid became frightened,” he added.

Smoldering in the silos, the fire was caused by summer heat igniting decaying grain within the silos that had been there since the explosion, according to the company authorities.
Since 2013, ammonium nitrate has been kept at the port in a hazardous manner, resulting in the explosion of 2020. As a symbol of the corrupt and terrible government of Lebanon’s governing class, it is commonly seen as such by Lebanese citizens.

One of the most powerful non-nuclear explosions ever recorded, the blast injured more than 6,000 people and destroyed large areas of Beirut, displacing thousands.
Minister of transportation and public works Ali Hamie told Reuters that he anticipated additional silo sections might fall apart in the near future.

Despite the fact that officials were unsure whether other portions of the silos would collapse, Nasser Yassin stated the southern half was more sturdy than the rest.

This orange-tinged fire at the silos had had many Beirut residents on edge for weeks, and the port still looks like it was devastated.

“REMOVING TRACES” FROM AUGUST 4TH

The fate of the destroyed silos has been a source of debate.

When the government decided to demolish them, it angered the relatives of the victims who wanted to keep them to remember their loved ones. Last Friday, Parliament failed to pass a bill protecting them against destruction.

With high-level political pushback and legal challenges filed by top officials whom the investigating judge wished to question, citizens’ prospects for accountability for the 2020 bomb have dwindled.

Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati has made it clear that he would not interfere with the investigation and wants it to be completed as it has been planned.

According to reports, many individuals feel that the fire was ignited on purpose or that it was purposely left unattended by officials.

A committee of engineers, neighbours, and other stakeholders, including the relatives of the dead, decided the silos didn’t have to come down. “Divina Abojaoude” stated.

“They were progressively tilting and required support, and our whole purpose was to get them supported,” she said to Reuters.

“Things moved quickly since the fire was natural. It’s possible the government could have kept the fire under control and even lowered its intensity, but our suspicions are that they wanted the silos to fall.”

No one from the administration could be reached by Reuters to address the claim that the fire could have been extinguished promptly.

It was recently reported that firefighting was proving problematic because of the possibility of the silos collapsing or a fire spreading because of the air pressure caused by army helicopters.

local Fadi Hussein claimed the collapse was done deliberately to erase “any record of Aug. 4.”

“We are afraid for our children, not for ourselves,” he added, adding that power disruptions throughout the nation meant he couldn’t even put on a fan at home to decrease the effect of the dust.

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