MADRID (Reuters) -A blast at the Port of Barcelona has killed a person and “affected” another, emergency services in the northeastern Catalonia region said on Tuesday, adding the ensuing fire had been put out.
In a post on social messaging platform X, the emergency services said the explosion took place during maintenance work at the so-called “Energy Wharf”, where chemicals, natural gas and refined petroleum products are loaded.
Barcelona’s city hall said in a statement it had received an alert “for a fire caused by the explosion of a transport tank” at 10.40 a.m. (0940 GMT) and subsequently activated its chemical risk emergency plan.
The companies in the area have ordered the confinement of their staff as a precautionary measure, the statement added.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro and David Latona; Editing by Sharon Singleton)