Barcelona (Spain) - Due to a toxic cloud, around 150,000 residents in the Spanish region of Catalonia were unable to leave their homes for hours on Saturday.

According to the local police, a fire broke out in the warehouse of a company that specializes in cleaning swimming pools in the small town of Vilanova i la Geltrú deep into Saturday night.

A toxic cloud then spread across the country and resulted in a curfew being imposed in five municipalities. Around 150,000 people were affected. Windows and doors had to remain closed and residents were only allowed outside wearing FFP2 masks in an emergency.

At the time of the fire, around 70 tons of cleaning tablets containing chlorine and other toxic chemicals were stored on the industrial site, as reported by the Spanish newspaper"El País".

The curfew was finally lifted again at around 12.30 p.m., according to the Catalan Civil Defense.

Although the fire has not yet been extinguished, according to the municipality, it has been brought under control by 60 firefighters. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.