It happened yesterday shortly after noon. Remember the drama of August 4, 2020, an unprecedented catastrophe in the country’s history. The cracks in the remaining parts suggest further landslides in the future. The impact of the dust cloud was felt for a few minutes and was effectively contained by rescue teams.
Beirut () – Four days before the two-year anniversary of the explosion, on August 4, part of the silos at the port of Beirut damaged by fire collapsed shortly after noon yesterday. A symbol of the tragedy of the double explosion in the port that occurred in 2020. The collapse formed a huge cloud of dust but did not cause any further damage thanks to the numerous precautions that the authorities had taken.
A chief of the Beirut firefighting teams, interviewed by L’Orient-Le Jour (LoJ), explained that “the impact of the dust cloud was only felt for 10 to 15 minutes.” Security agents established a perimeter of more than 600 meters around the site of the collapse and army helicopters later sprayed a chemical substance to break up the cloud of dust and mitigate its effects. Some witnesses reported that the residents of the neighborhoods surrounding the port did not hear or feel anything at the time of the collapse of the two giant cylinders that make up the silos, which confirms the effectiveness of the damage containment.
According to experts, the entire structure of the silos was shaken by the large blocks that fell from the port area facing north and then several cracks appeared in the remaining towers. This suggests that in the future there will be new landslides. In addition, the combustion of methane related to the decomposition of the cereal found at the base of the silos would contribute to fueling the melting of the metal structure.
There are only a few days left for the anniversary of the double explosion in the port of Beirut, an unprecedented catastrophe in the history of Lebanon, which left more than 220 dead, nearly 6,000 injured and entire neighborhoods of the capital affected by the consequences of the explosion of thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate. The date will be commemorated with a day of national mourning and a meeting organized by the relatives of the victims, during which numerous interventions are planned. For its part, the open investigation to clarify the causes and those responsible for the explosion seems increasingly far from a conclusion; the investigation is stuck at an impasse due to multiple legal and political obstacles.
Add Comment