Schools in the northern French city of Rouen were shuttered for a second day on Friday (Sep 27) after a massive fire ravaged a chemicals factory, spewing smoke and soot that officials insisted posed no health risk, reports Channel NewsAsia.
Pollution also spilled into the Seine river, but has been contained, said Pierre-Andre Durand, head of the Seine-Maritime department in Normandy.
A strong smell of hydrocarbons hung over the city, famed for its cathedral, long after the fire was extinguished.
"We have no more concerns about the fire," he added, as firefighters worked to mop up the residues deposited by the oily, black plume that darkened Rouen and surrounding areas for most of Thursday.
"To the people of Rouen I say: We can live and work absolutely normally," Durand said, adding that tests had found no harmful toxins in the air or city water.
Schools were closed, he said, for thorough cleanups of the black soot that has descended on the playgrounds and courtyards.