A total of 150,000 litres were required to extinguish the massive flames that took over the area next to Marsa racecourse yesterday.

For around two hours, a massive cloud of black smoke could be seen from all over Malta, visible from any possible location, be it on the Northern or Southern side of the island.

“In total 10 fire appliances, 20 firefighters, and 150,000 Litres of water have been used,” the Civil Protection Department said on social media, uploading photos of the operation.

“The Civil Protection Malta would like to thank the The Malta Police Force, Transport Malta and the emergency medical team for their assistance.”

The incident was caused by pipes that caught on fire around Marsa racecourse at around 11am. Thankfully, no one was injured in the ordeal.

A spokesperson for WSC said it was notified about a fire on-site in Marsa, near the race course where a contractor was implementing one of the sewer network upgrade projects by the Water Services Corporation.

Several PVC sewer pipes that were about to be laid in trenches as part of this project burnt down in this fire, they confirmed.

WSC is currently operating with authorities to determine the cause of the fire and thanked CPD for their rapid response.