A fire destroyed at least 30 makeshift wooden homes in Malaysia's Sabah state early Wednesday, officials said, in the second reported blaze in the area in fewer than two weeks.

The Sabah Fire and Rescue Department said the pre-dawn blaze swept through a settlement in Sandakan district in Sabah's northeast, where some of Malaysia's poorest residents, including indigenous and stateless communities, live in closely packed, wooden houses.

No injuries or fatalities were reported, it said.

It was the second such fire in Sandakan since April 19, when a massive fire razed 1,000 homes and displaced thousands of people in a coastal village.

"It is estimated that about 186 residents are affected. We're still investigating the cause of the fire," Sandakan Fire and Rescue station chief Jimmy Lagung told AFP by telephone from Sandakan on Wednesday.

In a statement, the fire department said 21 firefighters were deployed to put out the blaze, managing to prevent the flames from spreading to about 100 neighbouring houses.

© Agence France-Presse