Beirut: Days before the second anniversary of the devastating explosion that damaged grain warehouses at the port of Beirut, part of them collapsed, sending a cloud of dust over the city and bringing back painful memories of the explosion, in which more than 215 lives was claimed.

No one was immediately reported injured as a result of Sunday's fall. Lebanese authorities issued a warning last week that the northern part of the Silos, reminiscent of the devastating August 4, 2020 eruption.

Tarek Hussain, a local from the nearby Karantina neighbourhood, was shopping with his son when he collapsed. "It was the same feeling when the blast happened, we remembered the explosion," he said. My son was shocked when he saw some big pieces falling off,

According to officials, the fire that had been smoldering in the silos for a few weeks was igniting fermented grains caused by the summer heat that had remained there since the explosion and were left to rot.

Ammonium nitrate that had been improperly stored at the port since 2013 caused the 2020 eruption. It is widely regarded by Lebanese as a representation of corruption and poor leadership on the part of the ruling class, which also led to the country's disastrous financial collapse.

The explosion, one of the most powerful non-nuclear explosions ever recorded, left tens of thousands of people homeless and nearly 6,000 injured.

The caretaker government's Minister of Transport and Public Works, Ali Hami, expressed concern that additional silos could soon collapse.

Environment Minister Nasser Yasin said that although officials were uncertain about whether other parts of the silos would collapse, the southern part was more stable.

Many Beirut residents were on shore for weeks because of a fire at the Silos, which was glowing orange at night inside a port that still looked like a disaster zone.

The question of what to do with damaged silos has sparked debate. In April, the government decided to destroy them, which angered the families of the victims, who wished to retain them to honor the memory of the explosion. Last week, a law that could have saved them from demolition was not passed by parliament.

As the investigating judge has faced high-level political resistance, including legal complaints made by senior officials, which he has sought to question, citizens expect 2020 to explode. Accountability has faded.

Incoming Prime Minister Najib Mikati has said he opposes interference in the investigation and wants it to proceed as planned.
However, many have said that they thought the fire was intentionally started or deliberately allowed to spread without control, indicating their distrust of the authorities.

According to engineer Divina Abozoude, who is a member of a committee that includes representatives of the families of the deceased, local people and experts, the silos did not collapse.

We were trying to get them support because they were slowly bending over and they needed support, she said. "The fire naturally intensified things. We suspect the government wanted the silos to collapse, but they could and would have reduced the fire if they wanted to.

The economy minister first mentioned challenges in extinguishing the fire, such as the possibility of a silo collapsing or a fire spreading due to air pressure created by military helicopters.
Fadi Hussein, a resident of Karantina, said he thought the collapse was planned to erase "any traces of 4 August".

He said that due to power outages across the country, he was not even able to run a fan in the house to reduce the effect of dust. "We are not worried about ourselves, but our children," he said in reference to the pollution caused by the collapse of the silos.

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