A fire destroyed 90 houses in the Kampung Gas water village in Sandakan, leaving 400 villagers homeless.

The fire affected five areas, from Jambatan Satu to Jambatan Lima, according to a statement from the operations centre of the Sabah Fire and Rescue Department.

It said the firefighters were able to put out the blaze before it spread to seven other areas, from Jambatan Enam to Jambatan 12, and a sawmill.

The statement said 22 officers and personnel led by Fire and Rescue Superintendent Anddre Andrew rushed to the scene in four trucks after being summoned at 1.56pm.

Firefighters from the Karamunting Volunteer Firefighting Squad and the IOI Factory Emergency Response Team also helped to put out the fire.

Efforts to extinguish the fire were hampered by low water pressure, low tide and a change in the wind direction.

The fire was brought under control at 4.15pm and put out at 5.39pm, the statement said, adding that the cause of the fire had yet to be determined.

A victim, Nasrun Abdul Ghani, 63, told Bernama that this was the second time that his house had been destroyed in a fire after the first incident in 1994.

He said his family of seven could only save their clothes, important documents and an electric rice cooker.

Several household items, among them a refrigerator, washing machine, television and furniture, were destroyed, he added.

The fire spread fast because of the close proximity of the houses and a strong wind, he said, adding that the family would stay temporarily with relatives in the same village.

- Bernama