Pictures: Large section of smoldering Beirut port silos collapses

The remaining southern block is more stable and not at imminent risk of collapse

Published: August 23, 2022 15:43 AFP and compiled by Balaram Menon, Senior Web Editor

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Eight more grain silos at Beirut port toppled Tuesday, succumbing to damage from a devastating 2020 explosion in the third such collapse in a month. Image Credit: AFP

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A cloud of dust rose over the port after the collapse, which brought down the last of the northern block of silos that was more heavily damaged in the blast and where a fire had been burning since July. Image Credit: AFP

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The remaining southern block is more stable and not at imminent risk of collapse, said French civil engineer Emmanuel Durand, who has installed sensors on the silos. Image Credit: AFP

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The silos absorbed much of the impact of the massive explosion of haphazardly stored ammonium nitrate fertiliser that killed more than 200 people on August 4, 2020. Image Credit: REUTERS

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Other silos already collapsed on July 31 and August 4. Image Credit: REUTERS

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A fire has been burning in the silos for more than a month as remaining grain stocks ferment in the summer heat. Image Credit: AFP

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In April, the government ordered the silos' demolition but the operation was put on hold, partly because of objections from relatives of blast victims who want them preserved as a memorial. Image Credit: AFP

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Smoke and dust rising from collapsing silos damaged during the August 2020 massive explosion in the port, in Beirut. Image Credit: AP

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People standing outside the port of Lebanon's capital Beirut look at the newly-collapsed northern section of the grain silos. Image Credit: AFP

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Public Works Minister Ali Hamieh announced last week that the government had agreed to reserve 25,000 square metres (270,000 square feet) of the port to build new grain silos. Image Credit: AP

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This is larger than the current complex which occupies a space of 21,000 square metres (226,000 square feet). Image Credit: AFP

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Hamieh said funding would come from international donors as well as the government, which has been bankrupted by a crushing financial crisis. Image Credit: REUTERS

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