YANGON: Twenty-five people were killed and dozens more injured yesterday in a large fire sparked by a train accident in northwest Myanmar, the government said.
Two petrol tankers loaded onto the train overturned when it derailed, and local villagers collecting the fuel were burned to death in the ensuing blaze, according to the information ministry website.
Sixty-two people were hurt in the accident, which happened at about 10 a.m. (0330 GMT) in Kanbalu in Sagaing Region, bordering India, it said.
“While some people from nearby villages were collecting the oil, the fire spread and 25 of them were killed and 62 injured, according to initial information,” the ministry website said.
It said authorities were investigating the accident and the casualties had been rushed to hospitals in the area.
Safety standards are generally poor in Myanmar, which is emerging from decades of military rule under a new quasi-civilian government, and the decrepit rail system has suffered from years of under-investment.
Long isolated under almost half a century of junta rule, Myanmar has embarked upon a rapid series of political and economic reforms under President Thein Sein, who is now wooing foreign investors to boost the ailing economy.
25 dead in Myanmar train fire
