Around 160,000 people in the Spanish region of Catalonia were warned to stay indoors tonight after a fire in an industrial area caused a toxic cloud of chlorine, emergency services said, quoted by Reuters.
The fire broke out at a swimming pool cleaning products factory in Vilanova i la Geltru, 48 km south of Barcelona, at around 2:20 a.m. (00:20 GMT). As a result, a huge cloud of chlorine smoke has formed over the area.
"If you are in the affected area, do not leave your home or workplace", the civil protection service said on the social network "Ex".
No one was injured in the fire, the Catalan emergency services said today, but residents of five towns were sent a message on their mobile phones telling them to stay indoors.
"It is very difficult for chlorine to ignite, but when it does, it is very difficult to extinguish it," the owner of the industrial zone told a local radio station. He said the cause of the fire could be a lithium battery.
Trains that were due to pass through the area were stopped, roads were blocked and events were cancelled.
The fire has been brought under control, a Civil Protection spokesman said.