'Heatwave making it difficult to contain Guntur Chilli Yard Fire'

Hyderabad, May 3 (UNI) Andhra Pradesh Fire Services Director General Aruna Bahuguna today said the continuous heatwave prevailing in the state was making it difficult to contain the fire at Asia's biggest Chilli Yard in Guntur, where red chillies, worth crores of rupees were destroyed.

Speaking to newspersons here, Ms Bahuguna said the Fire Services Department received information about the fire at 0930 hrs and the first fire tender reached the spot within 20 minutes.

Stating that 15 fire tenders from different areas were rushed to the spot and were struggling to douse the flames, she said another five fire tenders would be pressed into service in the next one hour.

''Initially, the fire services thought of pressing a chopper into service to contain the fire. But the idea did not materialise as it was impossible to sprinkle water or chemical foam from the chopper during the heatwave,'' she added.

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