TOURISTS in a string of Spanish beach resorts were told to stay indoors today after a huge fire at a chemical plant sent a toxic chlorine cloud billowing over the area.
Holidaymakers in five popular towns near Barcelona were among 160,000 people ordered to shut their windows and stay inside as emergency services scrambled to contain the blaze.
AFPFirefighters work on a site of a burnt building storing pool cleaning products, in the coastal city of Vilanova i la Geltru[/caption]
AFPEmergency service staff trying to contain the toxic fumes[/caption]
AFPSmoke billowing from the building on Saturday[/caption]
The fire broke out at around 2.30am local time at a factory storing 70 tons of swimming pool cleaning chemicals in the seaside town of Vilanova i la Geltru, just 25 miles south of the Catalan capital.
The blaze caused a massive chlorine smoke plume to spread across a wide area, triggering an emergency lockdown across Vilanova i la Geltru, Cubelles, Les Roquetes de Sant Pere de Ribes, Cunit and Calafell.
In a stark warning on social media, Spain’s Civil Protection service said: “If you are in the affected area, don’t leave your house or your place or work.
“An alert will be sent to mobile phones to inform people about the lockdown.”
They added: “Don’t travel to the affected areas.”
The drama caused widespread disruption, with trains halted, roads blocked and local events cancelled.
Civil Protection spokesperson Joan Ramon Cabello said the fire had now been brought under control.
But Catalan president Salvador Illa warned the stay-at-home order would remain in place until there was “no risk to the population”.
Mayor of Vilanova i la Geltru Juan Luis Ruiz said: “The priority right now is peoples’ safety and the rapid extinction of the fire.”
No injuries were reported, although one person is understood to have had a panic attack.
The factory owner Jorge Vinuales Alonso told local radio: “It is very difficult for chlorine to catch fire but when it does so it is very hard to put it out.”
He added that the blaze may have been sparked by a lithium battery.
With much of the region still sealed off, officials continue to monitor the air quality as holidaymakers and locals await the all-clear.
Meanwhile, in Ibiza, a British tourist died after suffering two heart attacks, just moments after taking himself to a local health centre.
The 36-year-old man is believed to have suffered a cardiac arrest reportedly triggered by drug use, according to local Spanish media.
Alone, he made his way to the Vila health centre by Uber in the early hours of this morning but rapidly deteriorated.
The Ibiza Regional Government confirmed he was transferred to Can Misses Hospital due to the severity of his condition – but suffered a cardiac arrest during the journey.
He was initially resuscitated by paramedics, but once in the hospital’s Emergency Department, he suffered a second heart attack and was pronounced dead at 4.55am.
The Brit was reportedly admitted to hospital after suffering from drug poisoning, according to Diario de Ibiza.
But the Pitiusas Health Department has not officially verified this.
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AFPSpanish authorities told more than 160,000 people near Barcelona to stay indoors[/caption]
AFPThe building was left destroyed following the blaze[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
