Rompin: Nearly 60 hectares of a 300-hectare fire at an oil palm plantation in Rompin have been extinguished as of 5 pm yesterday.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Pahang Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) assistant director of operations and rescue, Mohd Salahuddin Isa, reported that 85 water-bombing runs had been conducted, utilizing 68,000 litres of water to control the blaze. The operation area has been divided into four sectors, with a focus on sectors A and C, involving three teams, including the air unit conducting water-bombing operations.

Sectors B and D are currently under control, and JBPM expects the plantation fire to be fully extinguished within a week. Meanwhile, the Air Pollutant Index Management System indicated that air quality in Rompin was unhealthy, with an Air Pollutant Index (API) reading of 152 as of 10 am.

Pahang Department of Environment director Zakaria Ahmad mentioned that checks would be conducted to ascertain whether the fire or other factors were responsible for the unhealthy API reading.