Last evening, a fire at a foreign-owned factory in Samalaju Industrial Park, Bintulu, injured ten people, including four with burns. Videos on social media showed large explosions, fireballs, and thick smoke from the factory.

According to a spokesperson from the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department’s Operations Centre, all the injured were taken to Bintulu Hospital for treatment. The Fire Department did not receive detailed information about the victims, as the factory owner did not disclose specifics or allow photos of the scene.

The Fire Department learned that the fire started in the factory’s bottom reactor. The factory’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) managed to control and extinguish the fire before the fire department arrived. The factory management only requested the fire department to be on standby.

The fire team from Samalaju Fire and Rescue Station received the call at 6:24 p.m. and reached the site at 6:28 p.m. The fire was brought under control by 7 p.m.