People in western and central Amsterdam have been warned to close their windows and doors and switch off air conditioning systems due to smoke from a fire on a cargo ship in the city’s western port area.

A fifth NL Alert was issued on Friday morning after the wind direction changed, pushing smoke from the site towards the city centre.

The fire, which broke out on Thursday afternoon on a ship loaded with scrap metal, is still burning and may still a long time to bring under control, fire officers told broadcaster NOS.

Smoke has been visible across a wide area since the fire began. Soot particles have been reported in some places, and there have been widespread complaints of a strong smell.

The fire started around 5 pm on Thursday in one of the ship’s five cargo holds. By 6 am on Friday, the fire brigade said it was working on an alternative approach to extinguish the flames after efforts to empty the holds and tackle the fire from the shore had failed.