Emergency services say a chemical emergency alert has been activated in northeastern Spain following a big explosion in an industrial zone near Tarragona.

A tweet by emergency services for the Catalonia region called the blast a “chemical accident” and advised residents to refrain from going outside as a preventive measure.

Ahora mismo en #Tarragona
¿Qué esta pasando? Alguien que informe por favor! pic.twitter.com/AY15XF1ppH

— Laura Presicce (@laura_presicce) January 14, 2020

Worried locals have posted photos and videos on social media showing the dramatic scene at a chemical plant. One woman uploaded footage showing smoke rising high from a ball of fire. She said: “Right now in #Tarragona. What’s going on? Someone report please!” Local reports suggest the plumes of smoke rising high into the night sky were the result of an explosion at the IQOXE (Industrias Químicas del Óxido de Etileno) plant in the city.

#Breaking: Just in – Major explosion being reported at a facility in #Tarragona in #Catalonia in #Spain. pic.twitter.com/o7uJsyyxrE

— Sotiri Dimpinoudis (@sotiridi) January 14, 2020

Another concerned witness posted a video and questioned if the fire was due to a petrochemical explosion.

And another local resident said they had been disturbed by the explosion.

They said: “Explosion in #Tarragona in the petrochemical industry of Canonja, sighted from Cambrils … the sound of the explosion has rumbled the room.”

One Twitter user said the boom had been “heard and noticed from various parts of the province (Tarragona and Vila-seca)”.