MALAYSIA. About 60 shops in a duty free complex in Rantau Panjang, a town in Kelantan, Malaysia, have been destroyed in a fire, according to a report by Malaysian national news agency Bernama.
Located near the Malaysia-Thailand border across from Sungai Golok, Thailand, Rantau Panjang is said to be a popular destination among tourists. The duty free complex houses over 300 shops selling a variety of goods.
The fire is said to have taken place at 11.30pm last night. No casualties were reported and the cause of the fire and the loss incurred were still under investigation, said Kelantan Fire and Rescue Department Operations Assistant Director Abdul Jalil Ishak.
Abdul Jalil added that the shops, which have been operating for over 20 years in the tax-free zone, were made of wooden structures and located side by side, causing the fire to spread quickly. In addition, most of the shops sold clothing and blankets.
The Kelantan Fire and Rescue Department managed to bring the fire under control within an hour. The shops affected were estimated to have been burnt within half an hour of the fire starting, Bernama added.
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News of the Rantau Panjang fire as reported by Bernama |
