A major fire outbreak destroyed a local coconut oil manufacturing unit at West Mahe near Beypore in Kozhikode district of Kerala late on Sunday night. It took firefighters over eight hours to bring the blaze under control on Monday morning.
No one sustained injuries as the mill was not operational at the time of the incident. According to police sources, the fire broke out at Renuka Oil Mill around 10:30 p.m.
The blaze reportedly originated from a nearby copra drying unit operated with firewood before rapidly spreading to other stored raw materials, copra packs, oil containers, packaging materials, and heavy machines. A heavy goods carrier parked on the premises of the mill was also destroyed in the incident.
A local merchant said migrant workers staying in a nearby rented facility first spotted the smoke billowing from the mill and called for help. Fire tenders from the Meenchanda station were deployed soon.
Rescue officials said the fire spread rapidly due to the presence of a huge stock of highly inflammable coconut oil and dried copra. More than 10 fire tenders drawn from various stations across Kozhikode and neighbouring Malappuram districts were deployed to manage the crisis.
Leaders of a local merchants’ organisation said the firefighters managed to prevent the blaze from spreading to adjacent residential areas in two hours, though thick smoke from the accident spot caused huge discomfort to nearby residents for hours. The situation was brought under complete control by around 4.30 a.m.
The oil mill was opened nearly 25 years ago as a small self-employment industrial venture by two persons from the Beypore coastal area. They said the estimated loss as per initial assessment was around ₹7 crore.
Police sources said a comprehensive probe was underway into the incident to track the cause of fire. Reports from the Electrical Inspectorate and Fire and Rescue Services Department would also be available soon for reference, they said.
Published - July 27, 2026 09:45 am IST