Smoldering Beirut port silo risks total collapse amid fire

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s government says one of the massive silos that withstood a deadly blast at Beirut’s port two years ago risks collapsing. Lebanon’s prime minister said Friday that an ongoing fire due to fermenting grain inside the silo has expanded. He ordered firefighters to step back from the area. The dramatic sight of the smoldering, partially blackened silo is reviving memories and in some cases trauma for survivors of the gigantic explosion that tore through the port two years ago, killing over 200 people, wounding thousands and destroying neighborhoods. A judicial probe found many government officials knew about a dangerous substance that had been stored at the port, but took little action.