In northeastern Spain, a chemical factory fire in the vicinity of Vilanova i la Geltrú prompted emergency protocols on Saturday, advising around 150,000 residents to take health precautions and stay inside their homes. This directive affected five towns close to the incident.
Medical teams attended to four individuals who experienced breathing difficulties due to the situation.
The blaze ignited in the early hours of Saturday within a warehouse at the chemical plant. The warehouse was stocked with 70 tons of chlorine, a substance commonly used in swimming pools, according to the firefighters.
The stay-indoors order was enforced for seven hours in the municipalities closest to the affected area, located between Barcelona and Tarragona along Spain’s Mediterranean coastline.
Firefighters were successful in bringing the fire under control by Saturday afternoon.