A fire that broke out in Terminal 1 at Sydney International Airport has been extinguished.

Firefighters rushed to the scene after reports of a fire near the main security screening point.

Passengers were evacuated from the main shopping area as the terminal filled with smoke.

Smoke has filled part of the international terminal at Sydney airport after a fire broke out near the screening area when someone dropped a battery @2GB873 https://t.co/nl8tDazN1P

— Amie Meehan (@amie_meehan) July 10, 2019

The fire is believed to have been caused by a dropped lithium battery, which was being transported from a robotics conference.

Sydney International Airport Fire Culprit – supposedly a battery from a robotics conference that’s been in town dropped and sparked fire in screening area. Fire fighters have it in this box. pic.twitter.com/UyMxNFtCZK

— Tara Moroney (@TaraMoroney7) July 10, 2019

2GB producer Tara Moroney was at the airport when the fire broke out.

She tells Merrick Watts it was a chaotic scene.

“The entire terminal had just filled with smoke very very quickly, you couldn’t breathe, people started coughing.

“Everyone who had gone through security and customs was pushed back… we had no idea what was going on.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview

Passenger processing has resumed again and several flights have been delayed as a result.