Fire at Tesla's Fremont factory under control, no injuries reported

[March 12, 2021]  By Kanishka Singh and Hyunjoo Jin

(Reuters) - A fire at electric carmaker Tesla's factory in Fremont, California, was brought under control on Thursday evening and there were no immediate reports of injuries, the fire department told Reuters.

The fire took place in a part of the factory property that was under construction, according to Aisha Knowles, a spokeswoman at the Fremont Fire Department.

"The deep-seated fire was contained to a vehicle manufacturing stamping machine", she added.

The fire was caused by hydraulic fluid coming in contact with molten aluminum, the spokeswoman said.

Fremont firefighters coordinated with the Tesla fire response team.

Two Fremont Fire engines and one truck remained at the scene to monitor the situation, according to the spokeswoman.

A Tesla vehicle drives past Tesla's primary vehicle factory in Fremont, California, U.S. May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

Local media outlet KTVU Fox 2 had earlier tweeted a video of smoke rising from the factory.

It was not immediately clear whether production was affected.

Tesla did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru and Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco; additional reporting by Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler, Grant McCool & Simon Cameron-Moore)

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