Mizzima News

New Delhi (Mizzima) – Goods and property worth Kyat 600,000 were gutted in a fire that broke out at a privately owned fuel station on the Mandalay-Mattaya highway on Monday, the fire department said.

An official at Mandalay's Central Fire Department said, a fire broke out at 'Shweyeewin' fuel station, at about 3:30 p.m (local time) on Monday and the blaze raged for about an hour.

"At least Kyat 600,000 worth of fuel and property was destroyed in the fire," the official said.

He added that while there were several fuel shops that sell petrol and diesel nearby, only one shop was gutted and "there were no casualties."

Meanwhile, a local resident near the foot of Mandalay Hill in Aung Myay Thar Zan Township said, he heard an explosion from the fuel station and believed that the fire started after the explosion.

Several privately-owned fuel stations are located on the Mandalay-Mattaya highway in the northern outskirts of Mandalay, Burma's second largest city. These serve the fuel needs of vehicles plying on the highway.

The fire, which gutted fuel barrels, was the first in Burma's second largest city of Mandalay in 2009. However, a similar fire broke out at a fuel station in Aung Pinle in the eastern outskirts of the city on December 5, 2008.

The fire in Aung Pinle burnt a vehicle and parts of a fuel station.

Reporting by The The