A total of 1,300 shops were burned down by Monday's 6-hour violent fire that swept the whole five-storey building of a major market in the downtown area of Myanmar's second largest city of Mandalay, the official newspaper New Light of Myanmar statistically confirmed in its Tuesday's report.
Along with the small shops, 17 office rooms of organizations and companies, 54 rooms of the Yadanabon Cyber Corporation, which is a crucial ICT (information and communications technology) park established on the fourth storey of the market building serving the internet link of the city, and 59 rooms of computer training centers including a local Chinese-run one were destroyed by the huge fire which lasted from the morning through to the afternoon, the report said.
Altogether 21 people including 11 fire-fighters and three women were injured in the fire, it added.
The fire, which started in a shop at the ground floor of the business-booming "Advanced Yadanabon Market" near the Mandalay Railway Station, was due to electric short circuit, the report confirmed.
The authorities have not disclosed the loss in value resulting from the fire. However, witnesses estimated the value of loss could be more than the last biggest fire in Mandalay which occurred on March 24, 1984 which almost tore the downtown area.
The Yadanabon market is known as the second largest one of its kind in Mandalay after Zay Cho, a historically best known market in the northern ancient city.
Meanwhile, according to another report of the newspaper, Monday's two-hour fire in a village in Yangon's Hlaingtharya township also destroyed 201 houses and left 2,900 people homeless.
Source: Xinhua
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