Thousands in Spain confined indoors for hours by toxic fumes

Spanish authorities told more than 160,000 people near Barcelona to stay indoors for nearly seven hours on Saturday, after a fire at an industrial warehouse released a toxic cloud of chlorine over a wide area. The blaze, in the coastal city of Vilanova i la Geltru, just south of Barcelona, started at dawn on Saturday in a warehouse, storing pool cleaning products, the regional fire service said.

Firefighters also urged residents to remain alert, saying that new shelter-in-place orders might be announced in specific areas, depending on the winds and the movement of the toxic cloud. The at-risk area stretched across five local districts along the coast, from Vilanova i la Geltru to the village of Calafell, near Tarragona. The authorities closed roads in the area and shut train stations to prevent people approaching the affected area.