Radioactive material reported at Cork fire

An investigation is underway into claims radioactive waste was illegally stored in a warehouse which narrowly escaped destruction in a huge fire in Cork city yesterday.

The city fire brigade received an anonymous telephone call which prompted the radioactive alert in the midst of the emergency at the Millfield industrial complex in Blackpool where hundreds of jobs have been lost.

"We took his call very seriously," a spokesman for the fire brigade said.

A bigger concern is keeping the dying embers of the blaze away from the nearby Dulux factory in which gas tanks, stored paint and other volatile substances represented a major concern for the fire authorities.

The 130 employees of the Renford Textile Plant were evacuated safely, but millions of euro worth of damage has been caused.

The thick billowing smoke affected flights to Cork Airport.