On Thursday, Caretaker Minister of Economy, Amin Salam, visited Beirut Port which has been witnessing a series of fires for six continuous days.
During a press conference, the minister stated that the fire is outside the silos and it will reach them due to the high temperatures that will spread the fire.
He also clarified that the wheat inside the damaged silos helped maintain its stability and emptying the silos would lead to its collapse.
Dr. Salam explained as well that throwing water from a high altitude (helicopters) would cause more harm than good as it would spread the fire even more.
The minister ended his statement by clarifying, “We’re not saying that there is no solution, we’re just trying to find solutions that won’t have more consequences than those we’re trying to avoid.”
Earlier that day, Taqaddom MPs Najat Saliba and Mark Daou also visited the port. After inspecting the fire, “they noticed that some sites continue to burn due to the fermentation of the wheat and the rise in temperature,” they said in a tweet.
بسبب #الحريق المستمر في #إهراءات_القمح بمرفأ بيروت قام النائبان نجاة عون ومارك ضو بتفقّد الحريق في الإهراءات عن كثب، ولاحظا ان بعض المواقع مستمرة في الاحتراق بسبب الحرارة الناتجة عن القمح المخمّر داخل الإهراءات، اضافة الى استمرار ارتفاع الحرارة ما يؤدي الى هذا الاشتعال التلقائي. pic.twitter.com/3opKnbkWIr
— TAQADDOM – تقدم (@Taqaddom1) July 14, 2022
“The gasses originating from the fire don’t cause danger to the life of the residents close to the area,” they assured.
Related: $250 Million Lawsuit Filed In The US Over The Beirut Blast
