Scrapyard fire

Firemen battled for several hours against a big fire that broke out at a scrapyard in the limits of Birzebbuga yesterday afternoon.

Scrapped cars, a crane and tools were destroyed in the blaze, which sent up big clouds of black and grey smoke for much of the afternoon.

The fire was fed by tyres, engine oil and other inflammable material from the interior of cars, which were piled on top of one another. Every now and then there was a small explosion as petrol in their tanks was ignited.

Ganni Bonett, of Zejtun, who operates the scrapyard, said the fire started by accident when some workers were using a cutter on a car, and the blaze quickly spread out of control.

He said the firefighters found it difficult to reach the source of the fire because of the stacked cars.

Fire engines from the Corradino, Hal Far and Floriana stations were sent to the site.

A small room used to store spare parts was also damaged.