77 tonnes of mandarin oranges destroyed in warehouse blaze

The oranges are said to have been supplies for the whole of Kelantan.

The warehouse in Kota Bharu had been in operation for about 40 years but was completely gutted in the fire. (Bernama pic)

KOTA BHARU:

 A total of 76.8 tonnes of mandarin oranges intended for Chinese New Year were destroyed in a fire at a warehouse along Jalan Kebun Sultan here at about 9pm last night.

The warehouse manager, Hong Leng Feng, 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 but was completely destroyed in the fire. This is expected to affect the supply of mandarin oranges for this year’s Chinese New Year celebration.

“All of the onion supplies stored in the warehouse were also destroyed,” he said.

Kelantan fire and rescue department assistant director of operations Fadhlizil Iqram Ahmad Pauzi said his department received an emergency call via the NG999 system at 9.09pm and dispatched several teams to the location.

The first team arrived at 9.16pm. The firefighting 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.

Firefighters were forced to use a skylift due to difficulties entering the warehouse following the collapse of storage racks.

Fadhlizil said the cause of the blaze and the estimated losses remain under investigation.

He said two lorries and two motorcycles were also destroyed, while the warehouse itself was completely gutted. - FMT