Massive Fire Breaks Out At Plastic Godown In Thiruvananthapuram

A massive fire broke out at a plastic godown in Kerala's capital Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday evening. Visuals from the spot showed thick smoke billowing out. Two multi-storey buildings of a plastic factory at Manvila Industrial Estate have been engulfed in the fire for at least 4 hours.

Workers who were in the unit, managed to rush out as soon as the fire broke out, some of them said. No casualties have been reported so far.

Authorities have ordered evacuation in a one kilometer radius of the warehouse. There has been massive toxic fumes due to the plastic burning and people have been asked to stay 1 km away.

At least 30 fire engines have been trying to contain the blaze, that started around 7 pm. Around 40 fire fighters from Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Kanyakumari have been fighting the fire.

Fire engines from the city airport have also been asked to join the operations.

Fire force sources say that even after the fire is doused, they would still be on high alert, since the substances are highly combustible. And since the building has been on fire for more than four hours, the building or parts of it can even collapse.

There was minor fire reported from the same factory three days back, which was contained immediately by the factory workers with the in-house extinguishers, even before the fire fighters reached the spot.