Flood of caramel unleashed by Brazil sugar fire

A fire at a sugar warehouse in southeastern Brazil has been put out after unleashing a flood of caramel that threatened nearby homes.

A firefighter attempts to extinguish a similar fire in a sugar warehouse at the port of Santos, October 18.

The blaze erupted Friday in one of the company's two warehouses in Santa Adelia, located about 370 kilometres north of Sao Paulo, triggering a flow of melted sugar that spread into the town.  

Some twenty-eight thousand tons of sugar were damaged in the flames, but no injuries were reported. 

"Seventeen people had to be evacuated and sheltered in area hotels," the company said.

Firefighters from Santa Adelia and neighbouring towns, battled the fire for more than 70 hours, building earth dikes to contain the spreading caramel.

The lost sugar was fully insured and represents less than 0.5 per cent of the company's sales, Agrovia said.

The incident occurred a week after a different fire damaged 180 thousand tons of raw sugar and injured four people in warehouses owned by Copersucar, the world's largest sugar trader, in Brazil's Santos port.