Myanmar Explosion Kills 15, Dozens Injured: Official

[webfact]

Myanmar explosion kills 15, dozens injured: official

YANGON, December 29, 2011 (AFP) - At least 15 people were killed and dozens more injured in a large unexplained explosion and fire in Myanmar's commercial hub and former capital Yangon early on Thursday, officials and witnesses said.

Residents in several areas of the city were woken by the blast around 2am local time (1930GMT), which appeared to have occurred at a medical warehouse in the eastern township of Mingalar Taung Nyunt, sparking a large blaze, witnesses told AFP.

A security official at the scene said 10 men, including three firefighters, and five women had died while at least 65 people were injured, including some 30 firemen.

"We are still trying to make the list. We are also trying to find out the cause of the explosion and the fire," he told AFP.

Fire rescue services were still working to put out the flames, but "were able to control the fire", the official said.

"We heard a very loud noise from the explosion and saw smoke in the sky. Our building was also shaken by the explosion. We have no idea what's happening," a resident in nearby Botahtaung township told AFP.

Last week, a blast caused by an explosive device killed one woman and wounded another in northern Yangon.

While the cause of Thursday's incident remains unclear, Myanmar has been hit by several bomb blasts in recent years, most of them minor, which the authorities have blamed on armed exile groups or ethnic minority fighters.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-12-29

[webfact]

RT @mpoppel: CNN: Death toll from explosion in Myanmar rises to 20; at least 95 injured

[Lite Beer]

BLAZE

Burma's warehouse fire kills 1, injures dozens

Rangoon - A fire that set off a series of chemical explosions at a Yangon warehouse complex early Thursday killed at least 17 people, including five firefighters, and injured more than 80 others, police said.

The fire broke out between 1.30 and 2 am in a group of government-run warehouses in central Rangoon, Burma’s largest city.

About 20 minutes after fire trucks arrived at the scene, four powerful explosions shook the warehouses, killing civilians living in the area and at least five firefighters, police said.

More than 80 people were injured including three or four firefighters who were listed in serious condition, authorities said.

Officials at Yangon General Hospital said they were treating 76 people for injuries, while about five others with superficial injuries were treated and released.

Police said the fire started in Set-San Ward of Yangon’s Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township and spread quickly to 41 warehouses containing raw materials for the production of traditional medicines.

All 41 warehouses were either damaged or destroyed as the fire spread to surrounding wooden houses and a Buddhist monastery which collapsed after it caught fire.

"I was sleeping when I felt a big vibration," said area resident Win Htein, 50. "I ran out of my house and saw the warehouses on fire. I fell down and injured my head. Two of my nephews were killed. I saw many others injured."

Five fire trucks also were destroyed by the fire and explosions.

Officials declined to speculate on the cause of the blaze but said many volatile chemicals were stored in the warehouses

-- The Nation 2011-12-29

[Credo]

Very sad. I hope this is an accident and not something that will put the progress in reform in jeopardy.

[wxyz]

Captain Renault: "Realizing the importance of the case, my men are rounding up twice the usual number of suspects. "

Casablanca (1942)