Irrawaddy
The death toll from a series of blasts and a massive fire that hit an industrial estate on the outskirts of Rangoon early Thursday morning has been put at 17, as investigators continue their efforts to determine the cause of the disaster.
Twelve men and five women were reported dead after an initial blast that occurred at around 2 am Thursday in Rangoon's Mingala Taung Nyunt Township triggered further explosions and ignited a blaze that engulfed at least 16 warehouses and destroyed 226 neighboring houses.
More than 91 people who were injured have been hospitalized at Rangoon Hospital, according to officials. The death toll is expected to rise.
A Rangoon central fire department official said that the first explosion occurred at a warehouse for electrical goods, setting off subsequent blasts at other warehouses where gunpowder and sulfuric acid had been stored. It was not clear what these materials were being used for, the official said.The explosions were so large that they destroyed two fire engines that arrived at the scene, killing five firemen and injuring 33.
Many of the other victims were killed or injured after being hit by flying debris from buildings destroyed by the explosions. Others were crushed by collapsing structures.
“My house collapsed the moment I heard the blast,” said one victim who had suffered a head injury.
“The explosion site is three bus stops away from my house, but the windows at my house were blown open by the impact of the blast,” said Myat Ko, a resident of a nearby neighborhood.
According to earlier reports, the explosions rocked the entire city, jolting residents from sleep and leaving a 6 x 4.5 meter crater.
Officials ruled out the possibility that the explosion had been deliberately detonated. Bomb blasts occasionally rock Rangoon and other cities in Burma, but are rarely large enough to cause such extensive damage and loss of life.
At least 1,200 people displaced by the disaster are currently sheltering at nearby monasteries, and aid has been coming in from a variety of groups, including the government and armed forces, the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and civil society groups and companies owned by business tycoons.
“The USDP is helping the people together with the Rangoon municipal department. We are also now providing medicine to the victims,” said Bo Bo, an NLD member speaking by phone from the scene.
The five firemen killed by the blasts will be cremated in Rangoon on Thursday evening with full honors, a fire department official said.
Rescue workers search for bodies from a large explosion and fire in Rangoon on Dec 29. (Photo: Getty Images)
The death toll from a series of blasts and a massive fire that hit an industrial estate on the outskirts of Rangoon early Thursday morning has been put at 17, as investigators continue their efforts to determine the cause of the disaster.
Twelve men and five women were reported dead after an initial blast that occurred at around 2 am Thursday in Rangoon's Mingala Taung Nyunt Township triggered further explosions and ignited a blaze that engulfed at least 16 warehouses and destroyed 226 neighboring houses.
More than 91 people who were injured have been hospitalized at Rangoon Hospital, according to officials. The death toll is expected to rise.
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Many of the other victims were killed or injured after being hit by flying debris from buildings destroyed by the explosions. Others were crushed by collapsing structures.
“My house collapsed the moment I heard the blast,” said one victim who had suffered a head injury.
“The explosion site is three bus stops away from my house, but the windows at my house were blown open by the impact of the blast,” said Myat Ko, a resident of a nearby neighborhood.
According to earlier reports, the explosions rocked the entire city, jolting residents from sleep and leaving a 6 x 4.5 meter crater.
Officials ruled out the possibility that the explosion had been deliberately detonated. Bomb blasts occasionally rock Rangoon and other cities in Burma, but are rarely large enough to cause such extensive damage and loss of life.
At least 1,200 people displaced by the disaster are currently sheltering at nearby monasteries, and aid has been coming in from a variety of groups, including the government and armed forces, the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and civil society groups and companies owned by business tycoons.
“The USDP is helping the people together with the Rangoon municipal department. We are also now providing medicine to the victims,” said Bo Bo, an NLD member speaking by phone from the scene.
The five firemen killed by the blasts will be cremated in Rangoon on Thursday evening with full honors, a fire department official said.
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