Mizzima News

New Delhi (Mizzima) - A market in the town of Moulmein in Mon state in southern Burma was burnt to ashes after a fire broke out in one of the shops on Monday evening, local police and reports said.

A police officer from the Moulmein Township police station told Mizzima by telephone that the fire began at about six in the evening and consumed almost all the shops in the market.

He, however, declined to further elaborate on the devastation, saying only that the fire was extinguished by the local fire brigade and that the police force is still investigating as to the cause of the blaze.

"There were about 500 shops in the market, but only about two are now left, while the rest have burnt down," a local resident told Mizzima on Tuesday.

The local added that at least 25 fire trucks, including those from nearby towns such as Paan, Mudon, Kyaikmaraw, and Kaukbei, rushed to the scene to help distinguish the inferno.

Meanwhile, the Thailand-based Independent Mon News Agency (IMNA), which extensively covers Burma's Mon state, on its website said the fire originated from one of the floating restaurants and subsequently spread throughout the whole market.

According the IMNA, the market, popularly known as the lower bazaar, is the larger of the two markets in town located on the bank of the Salween River.

Despite fire brigades rushing to the location, firefighters were unable to quickly extinguish the fire, as it was already burning strongly by the time they arrived, the IMNA said.

The IMNA reports that a shop in the market is likely contain goods and commodities worth about 25 to 30 million kyat (approximately USD 20,000).