A major fire in a company in Santos, Sao Paulo state, southeastern Brazil, closed the access to the country's largest port on Thursday, local authorities said.
The fire started in the late morning, in a company named Ultracargo. Eyewitnesses told local media that an explosion had caused the fire, which soon reached 175 large fuel tanks in the company's site. Ultracargo storages several kinds of materials, many of them flammable.
The Fire Department blocked the access to the Santos Port by the Anchieta highway, which had to be closed down so that the fire department could work.
The Fire Department said that it may take two to four days to put out the fire, due to the high flammability of the materials. Some 80 officers are working on extinguishing the fire, with the aid of 22 vehicles. The fire can reportedly be seen from several nearby towns.
According to the fire department, there were no fatalities and some people were taken to local hospitals for smoke inhalation and heat stroke.