KOTA TINGGI: The Fire and Rescue Department has managed to put out 23ha of forest fire near the Sebana Cove-Punggai bypass here.

Kota Tinggi Fire and Rescue Department operations commander Mohd Khairul Sufian Dahari said that the fire started at 2.57pm on Sunday (Oct 15).

"On Tuesday (Oct 17), we divided the groundwork into five sectors to conduct total flooding from a nearby water source.

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The Fire and Rescue Department said it also conducted water bombing using an AW139 helicopter from the Bertam Air Station at 6am along with seven crew members.

"The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) also deployed their amphibious Bombardier CL415MP aircraft at 7am from the Subang Airport," he said in a statement.

Both aircraft have conducted 44 water drops and managed to put out 23ha of forest fire in the 32ha affected area.

"We have about 9ha of forest fires that still need to be put out," he said, adding that the operation is still ongoing.