Important fire on a Seveso site in Rouen: "It's visible for miles, there are regular explosions"

A fire broke out in the night of Wednesday to Thursday in a factory classified Seveso of Rouen. A perimeter of 500 meters around the plant Lubrizol, which manufactures additives for lubricants, was set up "for the sake of precaution", says the prefecture that does not count any victims and recommends avoiding the sector.

"I see a large plume of black smoke that covers much of the sky," reports to the microphone of Matthieu Belliard, in the morning of Europe 1, Sébastien, a local resident. "It's a pretty big fire, I think the whole plant is almost flaming, it's visible for miles, there are regular explosions," he says. The factory is located on the banks of the Seine, a few meters from the Flaubert bridge. "On some explosions, there is debris that reaches the bridge, a hundred meters," says Sebastien.

⚠ Fire in progress company # lubrizol @ Rouen @ seinemaritime On-site rescue services @sdis> AVOID the sector @ VISOV1 ⚠️

VIDEO: a fire since 3am this morning in a factory classified Seveso in Rouen. The Lubrizol plant manufactures additives. No casualties according to firefighters but very thick black smoke and numerous explosions # lubrizolpic.twitter.com / 8omu7skm0T

At least 130 firefighters were dispatched to the scene. Around 6 am a helicopter flew over the area. "Given the size of the fire, I do not know what they can do at the moment," adds our witness.