Police have told residents in a wide area around the Belgian Scrap Terminal metal processing factory at Willebroek in Antwerp Province to keep their windows and doors closed. A fire at the factory on the Boomsesteenweg is producing a lot of smoke. A large amount of rubbish has caught fire and a plume of smoke is billowing into the sky above parts of Willebroek and towards Ruisbroek in the municipality of Puurs-Sint-Amands.
Video: Locals told to keep windows and doors shut as smoke billows from fire at factory in Willebroek
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The police are asking people in several municipalities including the East Flemish municipalities of Sint-Niklaas, Beveren, Kruibeke, Temse and Sint-Gillis-Waas, to keep their windows and doors closed.
Elke Wauters of the Rivierenland Local Police Service told VRT News that "A large pile of rubbish is on fire and that produces a lot of smoke that is heading in the direction of Ruisbroek”.
"It is not yet clear what exactly is in the rubbish nor whether or not the smoke is poisonous. So, we are asking people, as a precautionary measure, to keep their windows and doors shut”, the police spokeswoman added.
The fire led to the temporary closure of the Boomsesteenweg on Monday morning.