It has been an uphill battle for 25 firefighters in their efforts to put out the peatland fire in Kampung Matang Merbau, in Matang, Perak.

Taiping Fire and Rescue station chief Rafeel Hairul Ricard said the still ongoing firefighting operations, which started at noon yesterday, were hindered by a lack of water source in the area and they had to obtain it from a different location about two to three kilometres away.

“The water had to be transported to the scene and the operations are still ongoing due to lack of water,” Rafeel said when contacted by Bernama today.

He said two fire engines and 25 firefighters from the Taiping and Pantai Remis Fire and Rescue stations were deployed to the scene after receiving a call at noon yesterday.

The firefighting operations at 0.5 hectares of peatland are still ongoing and the cause of the fire was still under investigation, he added.

- Bernama