Major warehouse fire sends massive column of black smoke into skies over Istanbul (VIDEOS)

A huge fire has broken out at a warehouse in the west of Istanbul, Turkey. The blaze produced a thick plume of smoke, seen from miles around the city, and required dozens of firefighters to extinguish.

The warehouse, reportedly used to store household appliances, caught fire in the western Istanbul neighborhood of Esenyurt on Friday afternoon. The flames spread extremely rapidly, engulfing the building in mere minutes, local media reported, citing eyewitnesses.

Footage from the scene shows a large column of thick black smoke emerging from the building. The plume was so large that it was observed from the furthest areas of Turkey’s largest city.

Multiple small explosions have reportedly occurred inside the flaming warehouse.

The fire required the intervention of some 105 firefighters and 39 fire engines to douse it, Istanbul’s governor’s office said in a statement. According to its information, no one was hurt in the fire, while local media reported at least one firefighter was affected by the smoke and received first aid at the scene.

The cause of the blaze has not been officially established yet and a probe into the incident has been launched.

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