Fire causes Gibraltar power outage

An explosion and fire at a power station in Gibraltar left a large part of the British peninsula bordering southern Spain without electricity on Sunday, police said.

A huge cloud of dark smoke hovered over a residential part of the territory, but no injuries were reported.

Gibraltar police said on their Twitter feed that there was “no need to evacuate” but advised residents to keep their windows shut.

The nearby offices of an online sports betting firm were evacuated, an AFP reporter said, adding that its services were down.

Police ruled out foul play, surmising that a generator caught fire because of a mechanical fault before exploding.