MADRID: A huge waste ground near Madrid where millions of tyres have been dumped was on fire on Friday, releasing a thick black cloud of toxic fumes that officials worry could harm residents nearby.

The government of the Castilla-La Mancha region where the dump is located, just dozens of kilometres south of the Spanish capital, said it had activated an emergency action plan.

Firefighters and helicopters were working to extinguish the blaze, which produced a “toxic cloud... that could affect part of the (nearby) town of Sesena”, which counts some 20,000 residents, the regional government added in a statement.

“Around a fifth (of the dump) is affected, thousands of tonnes (of tyres) are piled up there,” Luis Villarroel, an official at Madrid’s firefighting department, said in a video posted on Twitter.

He urged residents nearby to close their doors and windows, and to try and stay away from the cloud of smoke emanating from the fire — the cause of which is still unknown.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2016