Massive fire damages Chinese tyre plant in eastern Thailand

A massive fire that engulfed a tyre plant in Thailand's eastern industrial estate caused about US$40 million in losses for one of China's largest tyre exporters, officials said yesterday.

The fire, which started on Sunday night and took more than seven hours to control, destroyed six out of 15 warehouses in the Linglong international tyre compound in Sriricha district in Chonburi province, which is part of Thailand's eastern seaboard, said Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand Governor Verapong Chaiperm.

He said the cause of the blaze was not immediately known.

Police were waiting for plumes of smoke to die down before investigating the scene of the fire. Verapong said no casualties were reported in the blaze, but the fire had forced the company to shut the plant for two days. Linglong is one of China's biggest tyre makers and exporters. The plant was the company's first factory outside of China and started producing tyres for cars and light trucks early last year.

The area around Chonburi, 115km southeast of Bangkok, hosts many of Thailand's heavy industries, which are serviced by the various port facilities that are now operating on the Gulf of Thailand.