KOTA BHARU, Feb 1 (Bernama) -- A total of 76.8 tonnes of mandarin oranges intended for Chinese New Year supplies were destroyed in a fire at a warehouse along Jalan Kebun Sultan here at about 9 pm last night.
The warehouse manager, Hong Leng Feng, in his 40s, said he became aware of the incident after receiving a call from residents living near the warehouse.
“All these mandarin oranges were supplies for the whole of Kelantan, with most supermarkets in Kota Bharu sourcing their stock from this warehouse,” he told reporters at the scene .
According to him, the warehouse had been in operation for about 40 years and was completely destroyed in the fire, which is expected to affect the supply of mandarin oranges for this year’s Chinese New Year celebrations.
“Besides mandarin oranges, all onion supplies stored in the warehouse were also destroyed,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kelantan Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) Assistant Director of Operations Mohd Fadhlizil Iqram Ahmad Pauzi said his department received an emergency call via the NG999 system at 9.09 pm before dispatching teams to the location.
He said the first team arrived at 9.16 pm and found the fire involved a warehouse, before fire-fighting operations were carried out by personnel from the Kota Bharu Fire and Rescue Station, assisted by the Kota Darulnaim, Tunjung and Pengkalan Chepa Fire and Rescue Stations, including a water tanker.
According to him, the cause of the fire and the estimated losses are still under investigation, while fire-fighting operations had to use a skylift due to difficulties entering the warehouse following the collapse of storage racks.
He said two lorries and two motorcycles were also destroyed, while all items inside the warehouse were completely gutted.
-- BERNAMA
