Shocking fire in the port of Barcelona: 20 merchandise trailers are burning

BarcelonaA fire at the port of Barcelona with a cloud of black smoke visible from a large part of the city has raised alarms this Sunday. It has not yet been clarified why the fire started in a trailer waiting to board at Grimaldi's freight terminal on the Poniente dock, but according to the Barcelona Fire Department, the flames have spread to 20 vehicles. Port sources indicate that it is still unknown what was inside the containers that burned, but they assure that they were not dangerous goods because they are concentrated in another area of the port.

The Barcelona Fire Department has been working since midday to extinguish this fire. The alert reached the emergency teams at 1:17 PM, and at that moment the flames affected three trailers. The fire was brought under control at approximately 4:00 PM, and the emergency services predict that it will take hours to extinguish it completely. The port's usual circulation and activity could be resumed once the fire was controlled, except for the area affected by the fire, where firefighters continue to work.

For a few hours, however, normal life in the port has been interrupted. When the flames began, several explosions were heard that alerted the workers, according to a truck driver who was parked at the other end of the same pier when the fire started. A security guard in the area says that from the booth where he was, he did not hear the explosions, but he immediately saw the cloud of black smoke.

The port police soon closed access to the pier, which prevented access to the Porta d'Europa bridge, which must be crossed to reach a good part of Barcelona's cruise terminals. This caused many people to miss their embarkation on time, although they hoped the ships would not leave without them. This happened to a family – parents, grandmother, and granddaughters – who set sail from Valencia on Saturday and were making their first stop in Barcelona this Sunday. They were suffering because their luggage was on board and they didn't know when they could recover it, while others were loading their suitcases, like Natalia, an Argentinian from Mar de Plata who, after a few days in Barcelona, planned to board a cruise to tour the Italian coast.

Other tourists trying to reach the cruise terminal had to get out of the taxi as soon as they left the coastal ring road, without being able to enter the pier, because the port police had cut off access. An officer warned that the smoke could be toxic and that no one could get close. Next to the roundabout, one could no longer advance. El Morrot bar, which normally serves port workers, was filled today with people waiting – some more resigned, others more angry – for news about when they could set sail. "There are never so many people," said a worker. The waitress, behind the bar, was reviewing videos of the flames and said she didn't plan to leave because there was too much smoke: "It's fine here."

Impatience reigned in the room to the point that about twenty people let out a collective cry of disappointment when a policeman entered the bar, but he wasn't there to give them good news, but to order a coffee. "My son was told that in an hour we might be able to board," a woman said later, trying to encourage the rest.

The port resumes activity

Around four-thirty, circulation in the port and usual activity has been reopened, with the exception only of the area where the fire had been declared, where firefighters will continue to work until the fire is completely extinguished. For the moment, they continue to wet and check the entire area. In addition to the ten crews activated from the outset, the boat from the Barcelona Firefighters was later added to contribute from the water to the extinguishing efforts. The firefighters also sent three tanks, three water fire engines, an ambulance, a ladder truck, two vehicles with support equipment, and two command vehicles to the area.