Blaze Engulfs Plastic Scrap Warehouse in Autonagar

Visakhapatnam: A massive fire broke out at Sri Radhakrishna Traders, a plastic scrap warehouse in the F-Block of Autonagar, Visakhapatnam, in the early hours of Sunday. District assistant fire officer N. Gopi Krishna reported that the blaze began around 2:00 AM, but the fire department received the distress call only at 4:00 am. By then, flames had already engulfed the entire warehouse. Six water tankers were immediately deployed to contain the fire outbreak, and firefighting personnel worked swiftly to bring the situation under control.

The warehouse specialises in shredding and compressing plastic waste before dispatching it to buyers. Large pieces of discarded plastic are cut into smaller fragments and compressed into bundles for resale. Despite the scale of the fire, no casualties were reported. Gopi Krishna confirmed that although the facility employs nearly 200 workers, none were present at the site when the fire erupted. The absence of workers at that hour prevented potential injuries or fatalities.

The intensity of the blaze and the nature of the stored material caused thick smoke to spread across the Thongalam area of Autonagar, blanketing the locality in a dense cloud.