A large fire broke out at the Horafrost plant in the Belgian city of Westerwoude (West Flanders province), the smoke from which reached the French border.
The fire broke out at the Horafrost frozen vegetable production plant. The fire started in one of the warehouses, but quickly spread to other buildings. Smoke and flames were visible for many kilometres from the scene.
The municipality's website states that the smoke is not “acutely toxic“, but long-term exposure can be dangerous. No asbestos emissions were reported during the fire.
As the smoke will continue to spread for several hours, all residents of the local villages have been evacuated. This will affect a total of around 3,000 people.
This is the second major industrial fire in West Flanders in a short period. A few weeks ago, a fire broke out at the Recyworks factory, just a few kilometres from the town of Horafrost.
On 9 July, a major fire broke out in a suburb of the French city of Marseille, injuring 110 people.