Over 160,000 people in the area have been ordered to stay indoors
A travel warning has been issued to UK tourists who may currently be in or are planning to travel to Barcelona, after a toxic chlorine cloud has put much of the city on lockdown.
A blaze broke out at a chemical storage plant in the beachfront town of Vilanova i la Geltrú in the early hours of Saturday morning, sending toxic plumes of smoke outwards for miles.
The factory acts as a storage facility for up to 70 tons of chlorine for use in swimming pools.
The harmful cloud has affected popular tourist resorts south of the Catalan capital as well as sections of the popular Spanish city.
Civil Protection officials quickly activated an alert to warn people about the potential danger and instructed around 160,000 people to shut their windows, doors and stay inside.
In a “Chemical Alert” message on X, Spain’s Civil Protection service wrote: “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.
“Don’t travel to the affected areas.”
The danger areas, in the provinces of Barcelona, have been identified as: Villanova i La Geltru, Cubelles, Les Roquetes de Sant Pere de Ribes, Cunit and Calafell.
The owner of the firm where the blaze started, Jorge Vinuales, said the cause of the fire was not known yet but suggested it could have been linked to a lithium battery catching on fire.
The UK Foreign Office has issued a similar warning to British holidaymakers in the area.
In a a statement posted to the government website, they wrote: “An industrial warehouse fire in Catalonia has resulted in a chlorine gas cloud over parts of the region south of Barcelona.
“If you are in the area you should follow the advice of authorities and monitor local updates, including staying indoors and keeping doors and windows closed.”
The lockdown has led to the cancellation of the Vida BBQ – a precursor to the famous Vida Festival which hosts global artists such as Richard Hawley, Supergrass and Future Islands.
Organisers told disappointed ticket-holders: “Faced with this situation our responsibility and commitment to the health and wellbeing of people who were due to attend this event obliges us to take this difficult decision.”
