Grain silos ablaze in western French port
French firefighters were battling a major blaze in grain storage silos on Thursday in the western port of La Rochelle, authorities said.
The fire, which started around 8am, created a cloud of smoke visible for kilometres and is still raging, said officials of the Charente-Maritime region.
The four silos on fire are in a row and contain wheat, a spokeswoman for the fire brigade told AFP, adding the fire still risks spreading.
[Intervention]
Les sapeurs-pompiers interviennent pour un feu de bâtiment et séchoir, Rue Montcalm quartier La Pallice à #LaRochelle.
⚠️importantes fumées
▶️évitez le secteur
▶️Laissez les accès libres aux secours en transit #Inforoute17 pic.twitter.com/tSjRxQMktn
— Pompiers17 (@SDIS17) August 10, 2023
The site and nearby facilities have all been evacuated.
"We are in the process of confirming how many silos are impacted and putting ourselves in a position to protect the other silos," she added, emphasising there was no immediate indication of an explosion risk.
Un énorme panache de fumée noire au niveau du port de commerce de La Rochelle, provenant d’un silo de la SICA @F3PoitouChtes pic.twitter.com/oG9BOwqMS6
— Florent Loiseau (@FlorentFrance3) August 10, 2023
Nearly one hundred firefighters had been mobilised and "requests for reinforcements" were in progress, the prefecture said.
The silos are about two kilometres from the bridge to Ile de Ré, a popular vacation spot. Several roads in the area were closed as a result, including the exit road from Ile de Ré.
CIRCULATION :
Les rues de la Repentie, Deflandre, Poincaré, Béthencourt, Denfert-Rochereau, Montcalm sont fermées ainsi que la sortie de l’île de Ré.
Pour faciliter les interventions il est demandé de ne pas se rendre aux abords du site et de suivre les déviations mises en place pic.twitter.com/N55Lxr3W3A
— Préfet de la Charente-Maritime 🇫🇷🇪🇺 (@Prefet17) August 10, 2023
Updates to follow
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The fire, which started around 8am, created a cloud of smoke visible for kilometres and is still raging, said officials of the Charente-Maritime region.
The four silos on fire are in a row and contain wheat, a spokeswoman for the fire brigade told AFP, adding the fire still risks spreading.
[Intervention]
— Pompiers17 (@SDIS17) August 10, 2023
Les sapeurs-pompiers interviennent pour un feu de bâtiment et séchoir, Rue Montcalm quartier La Pallice à #LaRochelle.
⚠️importantes fumées
▶️évitez le secteur
▶️Laissez les accès libres aux secours en transit #Inforoute17 pic.twitter.com/tSjRxQMktn
The site and nearby facilities have all been evacuated.
"We are in the process of confirming how many silos are impacted and putting ourselves in a position to protect the other silos," she added, emphasising there was no immediate indication of an explosion risk.
Un énorme panache de fumée noire au niveau du port de commerce de La Rochelle, provenant d’un silo de la SICA @F3PoitouChtes pic.twitter.com/oG9BOwqMS6
— Florent Loiseau (@FlorentFrance3) August 10, 2023
Nearly one hundred firefighters had been mobilised and "requests for reinforcements" were in progress, the prefecture said.
The silos are about two kilometres from the bridge to Ile de Ré, a popular vacation spot. Several roads in the area were closed as a result, including the exit road from Ile de Ré.
CIRCULATION :
— Préfet de la Charente-Maritime 🇫🇷🇪🇺 (@Prefet17) August 10, 2023
Les rues de la Repentie, Deflandre, Poincaré, Béthencourt, Denfert-Rochereau, Montcalm sont fermées ainsi que la sortie de l’île de Ré.
Pour faciliter les interventions il est demandé de ne pas se rendre aux abords du site et de suivre les déviations mises en place pic.twitter.com/N55Lxr3W3A
Updates to follow
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