More than 30 Chinese SUVs worth Rs 12 crore go up in smoke at a dock in UK

A fire in the Southampton docks in the UK caused 33 Jaecoo SUV vehicles worth more than £900,000 to be engulfed by flames. The incident happened on Wednesday early morning when firefighters were called at about 4.20 am. Locals reported hearing explosions. According to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service, 33 electric E5 vehicles from the Chinese brand Jaecoo were involved in the incident. The vehicles are priced at £27,505 ($37,000 or Rs 35 lakh), which can go up based on the models. Huge plumes of smoke filled the air as photos show some of the vehicles completely gutted, while others sustained significant damage. When the crews reached the site, there were 10 fire engines, two water carriers, an aerial ladder platform and support vehicles at the scene, the fire service said. Jaecoo is the SUV sub-brand from China's largest car exporter, Chery.

A person who heard the explosion told Daily Echo the sound woke him up at 3:30 am. When he went to check out what had happened, he saw smoke. The fire was put out around 5.40 am, but the scene was filled with dark smoke. What caused the fire remains to be ascertained. Associated British Ports, which operates the dockyard, said, "There has been a fire in a vehicle storage compound in the Western Docks area of the Port of Southampton. All personnel are safely accounted for," according to the Daily Mail. At least 24 cars are said to have been impacted by the blaze.

The Southampton docks are described as "the UK's number one vehicle handling port" and process 600,000 vehicles per year. The Jaecoo 7 car is nicknamed the "Temu Range Rover" and is popular for being low-cost as compared to other SUV cars. The Jaecoo 7 was the most popular new car in the UK in March.