© AFPA handout picture released on May 4, 2017 by 112 Comunidad Madrid shows black smoke billowing after an explosion hit a warehouse containing hazardous waste in Arganda del Rey, east of Madrid.
The blast in Arganda del Rey sent up a huge column of black smoke, but emergency services said several air quality measuring stations in the area showed normal readings, easing concerns about toxic pollution.
Thirty seven people were injured in the blasts and fire at the plant, the Arganda del Rey city hall said in a statement.
Firefighters said three of the injured were in serious condition, two for burns and one with a fractured pelvis.
It was unclear whether the injured were all workers at the plant.
Madrid's emergency services center said on Twitter there had been "several explosions" at the site about 30 kilometers southeast of the Spanish capital.
The authorities are investigating the cause of the blasts.
The Madrid regional government said people were evacuated from five schools and several workplaces in a radius of 500 meters around the plant as a precaution.
"Neighbors have been asked not to leave their homes and to keep windows closed," a spokesman for Arganda del Rey's city hall told AFP, emphasizing however that air quality was "normal."
Firefighters said they had brought the blaze under control but 11 firefighting units were still working to extinguish it.
Requimsa, the company that owns the site, "manages and collects all types of hazardous waste," according to its website.
Source: AFP
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