BEIRUT: The northern part of grain silos damaged by an explosion at the Beirut port two years ago collapsed early Tuesday following warnings that the structure was leaning too far to support itself.
A total of eight additional grain silos collapsed, marking the third such incident in a month, according to Agence France-Presse correspondents.

According to the LBCI television station, the accident sent a cloud of gray-brown dust to the coast. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

According to Emmanuel Durand, the French civil engineer who installed the sensors on the silo, the rest of the southern block is more stable and in no immediate danger of collapsing.

More than 220 people were killed in a massive explosion at the port on August 4, 2020, and the northern part of the grain silos was completely destroyed, leaving wheat and corn in the sun.

Two years ago a massive explosion of carelessly stored ammonium nitrate fertilizer was wetted by massive silos.
According to officials, the silos had been on fire for weeks as recently as the summer heat brought on to ignite fermented grain that had been left to rot.

On 31 July and 4 August, the second and second anniversaries of the explosion, separate parts of the building collapsed.

The health ministry said on Sunday that air samples from the area around the port showed high levels of common mold, which is not harmful unless large amounts are inhaled over a long period of time.

The government had planned to demolish the silo in April, but the plan was put on hold due to protests from the bereaved families of the blast victims, who wanted to preserve them as a memorial.

Last week, the government agreed to set aside 25,000 square meters (270,000 sq ft) of the port for the construction of new grain silos, according to Public Works Minister Ali Hamih.

It is larger than the existing campus, which takes up 21,000 square meters of space (226,000 sq ft).

According to Hamih, international donors as well as the government, which has been bankrupted by a severe financial crisis, will provide the funds.

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