ALCALA DE GUADAIRA, Spain (Reuters) – A fire broke out on Wednesday at a warehouse for chemical product distribution near Seville in southern Spain, sending a plume of dark smoke billowing from the site as authorities asked residents to remain indoors.
A spokesperson for the regional emergency services told Reuters they had received hundreds of calls – starting at around 1:20 p.m. (1120 GMT) – alerting them to the fire at the La Red industrial park in Alcala de Guadaira, some 16 km (10 miles) southeast of the Andalusian capital Seville.
Workers at the warehouse belonging to local chemical distributor Plainsur had reported that all of them were accounted for and no one was injured or remained trapped inside, the spokesperson said, although emergency workers had yet to confirm this.
Alcala de Guadaira’s town hall told the municipality’s roughly 77,000 inhabitants to shelter in place with their windows and doors closed as the it was unclear how toxic the smoke was. Nearby warehouses were evacuated.
On its website, Plainsur lists highly flammable compounds such as ethylene, toluene and industrial solvents among its products.
(Reporting by Marcelo del Pozo and David Latona; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
