Resettlement longhouse in Bakun up in smoke

MIRI: Uma Bakung, a resettlement longhouse located 50km from the Bakun Dam in interior Sarawak, was destroyed in a fire on Monday (Nov 19).

Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department, in its latest updates, said firefighters had rushed to the site located about 200km from the nearest town of Bintulu.

“Bintulu Bomba units are on the way to the longhouse now,” it said.

It is not known yet how many families are affected or the cause of the fire that happened at about 11.30am.

Uma Bakung is one of 15 resettlement longhouses built in 1996 to house the 10,000 Bakun people who were uprooted due to the construction of the mega-dam.