GEORGE TOWN, March 30 ― The Fire and Rescue Department is investigating the cause of a fire that razed four warehouses near the Batu Maung cargo compartments complex here.

Penang Fire and Rescue Department director Saadon Moktar said they have starting checking the site of the fire at around 3.55am this morning.

"About 90 per cent of the warehouses were destroyed in the fire last night and we are still determining the cause of the fire and the total losses,” he said.

Firefighters from 15 fire engines rushed to the scene of the fire at about 10.50pm last night. Due to the intensity of the blaze, it took them almost two hours to get it under control.

"We managed to get the fire under control at 1.06am and completely put out the fire at about 3.06am,” he said.

He said the four warehouses razed were storage spaces for a recycled items, furniture, electrical items and food items.

"We believe that the fire stared at the recycled items warehouse,” he said.

He confirmed that there were no casualties in the incident.

The site of the fire was located very near to the airport runway, but Saadon said this did not affect the airport operations in any way.

"Airplanes can still land at the Penang International Airport without any incidents,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Penang International Airport issued a statement to reassure passengers that operations at the airport ran as usual.

"It did not affect any of the flights in the airport and everything is business as usual,” it said.