A column of black smoke visible from all over the Golfo degli Angeli, and a pungent smell that in a few minutes reached the town of Sarroch: the fire that broke out inside the Saras refinery this afternoon is massive.
The flames started from the cooling tower, the tall building known to all as the “Colosseum” , composed of plastic materials inside. The ignition inside the structure started after 1:30 pm: in a few minutes the flames caused a column of black smoke hundreds of meters high.
The fire was put out by Saras first responders in less than an hour, and no injuries were reported.
The Carabinieri are investigating the incident and will send a detailed report to the Prosecutor's Office. The fire brigade also intervened on site.
The company's note
A note was issued by Saras on the incident: "Today at approximately 1.50 pm, an ignition occurred, for reasons still under investigation, in a maintenance area of the cooling tower of the Igcc plant (combined cycle gasification plant). This ignition caused a fire in the plastic (polypropylene) fillings of the towers."
The internal teams "promptly controlled, contained and extinguished the fire - it continues - No damage occurred to people or systems".
Subsequently, the Municipality of Sarroch – in addition to reiterating that there were no injuries – reported that the burnt material (polypropylene) does not release dioxins during combustion .