Fire breaks out at Nuraichchoalai Thermal Power Plant

[TamilNet, Sunday, 24 October 2010, 11:31 GMT]
A major fire broke out at the Nuraichchoalai thermal power project in Kalpiddi in the Puththa’lam district Sunday early morning. An air force helicopter had been called into assist fire fighters to extinguish the fire from spreading. No workers at the site have been harmed by the fire, police said. A team of fire fighters from the Kalpiddi Naval base was rushed to the scene to assist the fire brigade, Navy Spokesman Captain Athula Senarath said. Meanwhile, media personnel and photographers who rushed to the area were prevented from getting closer to the site by the Chinese workers at the project.

According to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Chairman, Vidya Amarapala, the fire erupted due to the clogging up of a chimney that emits waste from the combustion of coal.

Though 95% of the fire has been extinguished, Sri Lanka Air force and Navy personnel have also been deployed in order to assist with the task, Police said.

No damages to lives or properties had been caused by the fire, according to the CEB sources.