Parts of a warehouse in the port of Beirut in Lebanon collapsed on Sunday (31st), creating a large plume of smoke that shrouded the city’s port area.
The collapse, which came exactly two years after a megaexplosion that also left 215 dead at the city’s port, occurred due to the fermentation of grain in the warehouses, caused by excessive heat.
1 of 2 Moment as part of a warehouse collapses in the port of Beirut, Lebanon on July 31, 2022. — Photo: Reproduction
The moment part of a warehouse collapsed in the port of Beirut, Lebanon on July 31, 2022. — Photo: Reproduction
According to the city police, there are still no injuries. A fire was seen earlier this month in the warehouses, which are 48 meters high, forming orange smoke in the area. At that time, the fire brigade was unable to extinguish the flames, which burned for weeks.
Last week, Lebanese health and environment ministries even recommended that residents of areas near the port keep their homes well ventilated. The structure of the warehouses had already been damaged after the 2020 explosion and part of it eventually collapsed in the fire.
2 of 2 grain storage area in the port of Beirut, Lebanon after one of the warehouses collapsed on July 31, 2022. — Photo: Mohamed Azakir/Portal
Grain storage area in the port of Beirut, Lebanon, after one of the warehouses collapsed, July 31, 2022. — Photo: Mohamed Azakir/Portal
Due to a severe heat wave that hit Beirut in July, grain stored in the port’s warehouses fermented, leading to the fire and later collapse.
The video shows the 2020 megaexplosion in Beirut, Lebanon in slow motion.
The blast comes exactly two years after a massive blast at the port of Beirut that killed more than 215 people and injured more than 6,000.
The incident came after the spill of hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate stored in one of the city’s warehouses.
Last year, the nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch accused the Lebanese authorities of criminal negligence in the incident. In a 126page report, the NGO documented a series of violations by the country’s politicians and security agencies in managing the port’s storage of hazardous materials.
“Lebanese officials were aware of the risk posed by ammonium nitrate. By not taking action to protect the population, they tacitly accepted this risk,” said Aya Majzoub, one of the authors of the report.