The fire broke out at around 1 PM at the Surovina plant and a large plume of thick, black smoke was seen rising from the area from kilometres away. Božidar Vivod of the Maribor Fire Department said the fire was brought under control by firefighters a little after 4 PM.

Despite the size of the fire, nobody is said to have been injured, but several cars and buildings in the vicinity were reported to have sustained some damage due to the heat. Moreover, three firefighters sought medical assistance during the operation to put out the blaze.

Maribor police spokesperson Miran Šadl said the fire broke out in the paper and plastics recycling and was made worse by the explosion of a gas valve.

Firefighters were reportedly able to prevent an even bigger fire by closing two other gas valves in the plant before the fire got to them.

While saying that the smoke was not particularly poisonous, police called on local residents in the Tezno suburb to close their windows.

A number of explosions were heard when the fire broke out, which caused panic in the neighbouring residential area.

Vivod explained that the fire engulfed old refrigerators and television sets stored in the plant, which caused many small explosions, but no major damage.

The cause of the fire and the total extent of the damage to the plant is as yet unknown.