KUALA NERUS: A trader in Batu Enam here suffered losses of over RM200,000 when the traditional medicine and homoeopathy shop he had operated for 31 years was destroyed in a fire last night.

Lukman Mamad, 67, said the blaze destroyed all the medicines and treatment equipment in his rented premises.

"Yesterday, I closed the shop at 6pm and went home to Losong in Kuala Terengganu.

"At 11pm, while attending a meeting with friends, my son called to inform me that the shop was on fire.

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"I rushed to Batu Enam and saw the flames raging. There were also loud explosions because the premises next to my shop were a self-service laundromat with many gas cylinders," he told reporters at the scene.

Lukman said the laundromat operator, who owns the shop building, lives in Kuala Lumpur.

Meanwhile, Kuala Nerus Fire and Rescue Station chief Azmi Omar said the station received an emergency call about the incident at 11.37pm yesterday.

He said 28 officers and personnel from the Kuala Nerus, Kuala Terengganu and Jalan Kota fire and rescue stations, as well as the Sri Nerus Volunteer Fire Station, were immediately dispatched to the scene.

"The fire involved three rows of semi-permanent shop lots.

"A food shop was 50 per cent destroyed, while a self-service laundromat and a traditional medicine store were 70 per cent destroyed.

"The incident also affected a house located behind the shop building, which suffered 50 per cent damage. As the shop and house structures were semi-permanent with old wooden upper floors, the fire spread rapidly," he said.

Azmi added that the blaze was brought under control within 45 minutes, and the cause of the fire, along with the total losses, are still under investigation. – BERNAMA