Huge tyre fire causes Kuwait 'catastrophe'

Hundreds of Kuwaiti firemen on Tuesday fought to contain a massive fire in a dump for used tyres, with some members of parliament calling the blaze an environmental catastrophe. Firemen from the national guard, the army and the oil sector joined efforts to extinguish the fire that was still raging 10 hours after it broke out in the dump of more than five million tyres, the fire department said. Environment authorities advised residents in the area to stay away and to use masks, but the education ministry rejected calls by MPs to suspend classes at local schools. A number of MPs described the fire as an "environmental catastrophe" and vowed to demand a debate on the issue in a special parliamentary session next week. Some said they will demand an official probe. Medics said that one man was treated for minor burns.