In statements to Lusa news agency, the sub-regional commander of Greater Lisbon for Civil Protection, Hugo Santos, said that “the Judicial Police is already on the ground”.

The fire consumed a car park next to Lisbon airport, owned by a company that collected vehicles from passengers who were then traveling by plane.

The alert for the fire – which did not cause any personal injuries or spread to nearby warehouses – was given by telephone at 5:58 pm on Friday, with the flames being extinguished at 10:50 pm and the rescue operations continuing until around 2 am.

According to Hugo Santos, one of the two floors of the car park was affected, with no damage to the floor where the logistics company UPS operated: “The car park was covered on floor no. 1 and uncovered on floor no. 2, and only floor no. 2 burned. UPS was on the ground floor”, he explained.

He added, “there may eventually be damage to some vehicles that did not burn, but which may be damaged by the heat released by the fire”.