duyunne
Jedi Council Member
UPDATE: Fire at French chemical factory 'will burn for days'
Thick black smoke billowed over the northern French town of Rouen on Thursday after a spectacular fire broke out at a chemical factory, forcing authorities to close schools and warn of potential pollution risks for the nearby Seine river.
The blaze broke out in the early hours of Thursday at the Lubrizol plant in Rouen - a large factory that is classified as Seveso, or high risk, because of the nature of the chemicals it produces.
READ ALSO French chemical factory explosion - what you need to know
"Let's not panic about this situation, but we need to be very careful," Interior Minister Christophe Castaner told RTL radio, adding that "there is nothing to make us believe there is a risk from the smoke."
Castaner later said that it could take days before the fire is extinguished.
"The fight they will have to wage to get the situation fully under control will take several days, maybe even weeks," Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said after arriving at the site.
But later on Thursday morning the government's top official for the region said the fire at the chemical plant poses a pollution risk for the nearby Seine river.
"We're still fighting the blaze, with the risk that pollution could spill into the Seine if retention ponds overflow," Pierre-Andre Durand told journalists.
Re: UPDATE: Fire at French chemical factory 'will burn for days'
Thick black smoke billowed over the northern French town of Rouen on Thursday after a spectacular fire broke out at a chemical factory, forcing authorities to close schools and warn of potential pollution risks for the nearby Seine river.
The blaze broke out in the early hours of Thursday at the Lubrizol plant in Rouen - a large factory that is classified as Seveso, or high risk, because of the nature of the chemicals it produces.
READ ALSO French chemical factory explosion - what you need to know
"Let's not panic about this situation, but we need to be very careful," Interior Minister Christophe Castaner told RTL radio, adding that "there is nothing to make us believe there is a risk from the smoke."
Castaner later said that it could take days before the fire is extinguished.
"The fight they will have to wage to get the situation fully under control will take several days, maybe even weeks," Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said after arriving at the site.
But later on Thursday morning the government's top official for the region said the fire at the chemical plant poses a pollution risk for the nearby Seine river.
"We're still fighting the blaze, with the risk that pollution could spill into the Seine if retention ponds overflow," Pierre-Andre Durand told journalists.
Re: UPDATE: Fire at French chemical factory 'will burn for days'