Massive fire in Amsterdam port

A massive fire broke out in two warehouses belonging to a chemical storage company in Amsterdam port on Tuesday afternoon.


Fire officials told local television station AT5 one warehouse is used to store rubber and the other cocoa.
The heavy black smoke is being blown away from the city by the south-easterly breeze but people living north of Amsterdam – in Velsen, Beverwijk and Wijk aan Zee – have been told to close windows and doors. The fire in the cocoa storage shed was put out shortly before 16.00 hours.
‘There is an enormous amount of smoke and that means toxic substances will always be released,’ said a spokeswoman. ‘The question is, how high the concentrations are.’
No injuries
According to the city council’s risk map, 115,000 kilos of dangerous chemicals are stored at the site. The company, Diergaarde Chemical Storage, specialises in storage and transport.
Police say no-one has been injured in the fire and the company located next door has been evacuated as a precaution. Nothing is known about the cause of the blaze.
In January, a fire at a chemicals packaging plant in Moerdijk south of Rotterdam caused over €40m-worth of damage.
For footage of the fire, click here
For photos of the smoke, click here

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