Part of the grain deposits at the port of Beirut, Lebanon, collapsed on Sunday afternoon, kicking up a huge plume of dust and smoke, nearly two years after a massive blast killed more than 215 people and severely damaged the area.
There were no immediate reports of dead or injured.
Authorities warned last week that the silos could collapse after a threeweek fire raged at the site, casting an orange glow in surrounding neighborhoods at night.
According to the government, the fire originated naturally from the fermentation of wheat left over from the 2020 blast.
Lebanon’s Transport Minister Ali Hamie told Portal he feared more parts of the port’s silos could collapse soon.
Local residents said the fire has now reignited the trauma of the Aug. 4, 2020 blast, for which no one has yet been blamed.
The incident was caused by a shipment of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive chemical that was improperly stored at the city’s port for six years.
With more than 200 dead and at least 6,000 injured, the tragedy sparked a wave of antiLebanese government protests and deepened the country’s political and economic crisis.