Spain evacuates 9 000 from massive tyre fire

Spanish officials have ordered the evacuation of 9 000 people living in a sprawling apartment complex close to a raging tyre dump fire in a town near Madrid.

A civil guard wearing a mask walks past a pile of tyres burning in an uncontrolled dump near the town of Sesena, near Madrid.

 

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The Castilla-La Mancha regional government tweeted on Friday night that about 8 000 apartment residents in the town of Sesena had already left their homes as thick black smoke poured out from the fire, which started before dawn.


The government said ambulances were being sent to the complex to evacuate residents with health problems who could not leave on their own.

No one has been injured in the fire, which authorities believe was intentionally set. Its billowing black smoke was visible from Madrid, more than 30km away.