YANGON — The damage toll from the weekend blaze at Yangon’s Mingalar market has been estimated at over K36 billion (US$27.8 million), according to the fire department.
The fire on the fourth floor of the market, based in Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township, broke out shortly after 1am on Saturday morning. More than 50 firefighter crews worked for six hours to prevent the fire from spreading to residential areas nearby, temporarily retreating after a series of explosions at 3am before the blaze was extinguished shortly after dawn. Around 160 police officers guarded the scene as bystanders gathered to watch the scene.
Fire Department representatives said a total of 1636 shops were gutted on the third, fourth and rooftop levels of the market, most of which were selling pharmaceutical and cosmetics products.
Saturday’s fire was not the first for the market building. A 2010 blaze did significant damage, and the Yangon City Development Committee had funded an expensive restoration of the building.
The fire was blamed on an electrical fault at a fourth floor shop while a work crew was installing a roller-door. The six-man team working at the shop when the fire began are being investigated by police.
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Store owners who lost their shops to the weekend’s inferno have been allocated temporary stalls at a nearby carpark. President Thein Sein visited the market on Monday morning, promising compensation for those who had lost their businesses.
