A severe fire broke out at the Westports terminal in Port Klang, Malaysia's main container port, with 22 containers burned and 38 damaged.
Port Klang Authority general manager K. Subramaniam said the fire started at 4.15pm (local time) on April 4. At around 4.45pm, the Port Police Control Centre (PPCC) received a call about a fire in the container yard.
After answering the call, the PPCC called the Fire and Rescue Department (FRD) from Port Klang, which deployed two fire trucks to extinguish the blaze shortly after.
It took firefighters 11 hours to put out the blaze, which was fully extinguished around 3 a.m. on April 5.
Subramaniam pointed out that the container holds general cargo and does not contain dangerous goods. Affected box contents include auto parts, cotton products, baby walkers, audio equipment and lubricants.
"At this time, we are unable to determine the extent of the damaged containers. All affected box operators will be notified in due course," Westports said in a statement.
"There was no damage to port equipment and infrastructure. We are also pleased to inform that there were no injuries or disruptions to our operations.
"We would like to thank everyone involved in helping us put out the fire, especially the FRDs from various stations."
While investigating the cause of the fire, Subramaniam said: "Other than the blockade of the fire area for investigation, the container cranes were not affected and other areas of the port were operating normally."
Selangor Fire and Rescue Department chief Norazam Khamis said the fire initially spread to eight containers, which were stacked in two rows by weight. Westports crews attempted to move other containers to prevent the fire from spreading.
