KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 — Firefighters are battling a forest fire on a hillside near the Putrajaya Toll Plaza along the Kuala Lumpur-Putrajaya Expressway (MEX) yesterday evening. 

Selangor Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) Operations assistant director Ahmad Mukhlis Mokhtar said a team of 21 personnel from the Seri Kembangan Fire and Rescue Station, assisted by the Cyberjaya station, was deployed after an emergency call was received at 4.12 pm.

He said operations commander Senior Fire Officer II Mohd Fadlee Kamaruddin reported that the fire involved a hillside forest area estimated about 0.8 hectares.

“Firefighting efforts are being carried out using two 200-foot (60-metre) hose lines with engine pumps and firebeaters. No casualties or structures were involved,” he said in a statement today.

Meanwhile, Mohd Fadlee said that swift action by firefighters had managed to contain the blaze from spreading further, particularly to nearby residential areas. — Bernama