A fire that broke out at a storage facility on the premises of the Embilipitiya Paper Mill on Sunday afternoon has been brought under control, Ada Derana reported.
The blaze began at around 3.20 p.m. in an area where scrap materials brought into the mill were being stored.
Firefighting teams from the paper mill were joined by personnel from the Sri Lanka Army, the police, the Embilipitiya Urban Council and the nearby Sevanagala Sugar Factory. The joint operation contained the fire and prevented it from spreading to other parts of the premises.
The cause of the fire has not been established. Authorities said investigations are continuing.
Neither report indicated whether the fire caused any injuries, what the value of the destroyed material was, or whether production at the mill has been affected.
The Sevanagala Sugar Factory, whose firefighters assisted at the scene, is itself in the middle of a shutdown. The state-owned plant suspended operations until further notice on August 29, though a management notice listed a dozen sections — among them the power plant, pumping, electrical and firefighting units — as continuing to run as essential services.
