Over 70 vehicles destroyed
Published on: Sunday, August 06, 2023
By: Jimmy Goh
Text Size:
Thick smoke blanketing the area.
Kota Kinabalu: Over 70 vehicles of various brands went up in flames along with four business premises along Jalan Ramayah – near the Matahari Furniture in Putatan – Saturday.
It is understood that the vehicles were temporarily kept there while the owners were waiting to claim insurance. The workshop where the 70 vehicles were kept was on another site behind the building.
ADVERTISEMENT
The loss in the 9.30 am blaze is estimated to be over RM1 million and the cause and actually loss had yet to be determined.
Owner of the premises, Anthony Tang, who operates the Kiong Li Timber Sdn Bhd, said it was divided into smaller units which he rented out. The tenants are involved in workshop business, paint jobs and welding services.
Aftermath of the blaze.
Anthony thanked Putatan Member of Parliament Datuk Shahelmey Yahya who came to visit the scene upon being alerted of the incident.
ADVERTISEMENT
A tenant, David Chu, who operates a workshop lost his van and Waja. He claimed there was initially a power outage in the area.
“A short circuit was triggered the moment the power came back on,” he said, adding that the sparks turned into flames very quickly.
ADVERTISEMENT
It is understood that the windy condition at that time caused the fire to spread quickly to a workshop located at the back of the premises. Ten workers who stayed at the workshop were left with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
“The fire spread too quickly. We could not salvage anything,” one of them said, adding they lost electrical appliances including washing machines and refrigerators.
* Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don’t want to miss.
* Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
