A Ragala tea factory burnt to ashes

A tea factory located in the Brookside area of Ragala, belonging to the Nuwara Eliya District, was engulfed in a sudden fire in the early hours of yesterday (01).

Ragala police officers, local estate owners, and firefighters from the Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council's fire brigade unit made strenuous efforts to extinguish the fire. However, despite their combined efforts, the rapidly spreading flames caused severe damage to the factory building and its property, leading to its almost complete destruction, police confirm.

It is a great relief that about six employees were inside the factory at the time the fire broke out, but none of them sustained any loss of life or injuries. The exact cause of this incident has not yet been revealed, and the total financial damage incurred has also not yet been officially assessed.

It is reported that there is a constant risk of such fires in Ragala and surrounding estates, considered a major tea production zone in the central highlands, due to old electrical wiring systems, strong windy conditions, and shortcomings in estate worker housing. Further investigations related to this factory fire incident are currently being continuously carried out by the Ragala Police.