At an industrial waste treatment site, fire broke out at 2 am, generating a sizeable and potentially toxic smoke cloud (presence of cyanides, cadmium, mercury, etc.). Fire-fighters, on the scene at 2:25 am, were unable to enter the facility for several hours as a result of flooding to the adjacent fields and multiple explosions of aerosol canisters. Some 60 individuals were evacuated and residents of nearby villages were asked to remain indoors. In all, 13 people received medical attention without necessitating hospital visits. The fire was extinguished at 6 pm. Considerable flooding risks over the next few days led the operator to transfer onsite wastes to the storage depot at the highest elevation; 6 days later, the site (at this point only accessible by boat) was monitored by authorities through helicopter flyovers. Wastes flowed into the river at high tide. Site drainage was interrupted on several occasions by repeated flooding. Various banned wastes would be found onsite during the subsequent months: barrels of ESB-contaminated solvents, radioactive wastes, etc. Damage caused by high water levels and additional safety works complicated the identification of accident sources; scenarios involving chemical reactions between products were studied, though the hypothesis of malicious intent could not be rejected.

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