ONGOLE: A major fire broke out in a tobacco trading company situated near Singarayakonda in the Prakasam district in the early hours of Friday.
Fire tenders from Ongole rushed to the spot and, after a long effort, brought down the flames and completely extinguished the fire.
According to official reports, no human loss occurred, but a huge quantity of tobacco stocks was burnt to ashes, and the industry suffered losses worth `300 crore.
The fire broke out in the Bellam Kotaiah Threshers (BKT) Pvt Ltd company, which is presently operated by another company, GPI, on a rent basis.
After midnight, at around 2.30 am on Friday, a sudden major fire broke out in the tobacco godowns of Black A and B of the company, in which about 10 million kilograms of tobacco stocks were completely burnt to ashes.
Although the fire tenders tried their best to put out the flames, it took them long hours to take control, and by the time they did, the damage was already done.
Prakasam District Superintendent of Police (SP) V Harshavardhana Raju, Ongole DSP R Srinivasa Rao, along with other officers, rushed to the fire accident spot on Friday morning and thoroughly inspected the location.
The SP interacted with the firefighting team and the representatives of the tobacco company management and inquired about the details of the incident and the primary estimations of losses.
Then, the SP spoke with the media persons and said, “Some reports suggest that electricity fluctuations occurred on Thursday night, and an electrical short circuit may be the reason for this major fire mishap. The exact cause of the fire accident and the final estimation of losses will be ascertained later.”
The SP added, “We have ordered a thorough investigation to find out the exact cause of the mishap and submit a comprehensive report on it with immediate effect.”
Also he mentioned that we have directed all the concerned officers to inspect the safety norms implemented in all industrial units of the district.”
A case was registered, and the further investigation is underway.
