Picture Courtesy: Mercurio Viaggiatore from Twitter

Thick black clouds of smoke have been seen over the Vatican following reports of an explosion at an auto garage, confirmed foreign press reports.

Photos and videos of plumes of smoke filling the air were being shared on social media.

A local channel has reported that fire broke out inside a car depot in Via Mattia Battistini, Rome, and that over 50 cars were involved after a "series of explosions".

The huge fire reportedly rose up over the entire western area of the capital.

The fire service and police were at the scene immediately and people living nearby closed their windows.

An eyewitness living nearby - who tweeted images of the scene- said it looked to be coming from a neighbourhood just behind Vatican City.