City engineers in Yangon were busy inspecting the site yesterday of what has been planned as Myanmar’s tallest building after a fire broke out in the early-morning hours.
Fire authorities said a falling searchlight ignited plywood and timber on the in-progress 22nd floor of the Diamond Inya Palace construction site on U Htun Nyein Street in Mayangone township.
Reports that three fire-fighters had been injured battling the four-hour blaze could not immediately be confirmed.
U Nay Win, deputy director of the engineering department of Yangon City Development Committee, said construction work would be temporarily suspended as engineers conducted a detailed inspection.
“Work can resume once the departments concerned have completed their inspection, which is standard in such cases.
“Since the fire occurred in a high-rise building, the inspection will be conducted by the Quality Control of High-rise Building Project [CQHP],” he told The Myanmar Times.
Nobody from the Diamond Inya company was available to shed further light on the matter.
However, one staff member, who would not give her name, said high winds had made it difficult to extinguish the fire, which raged on the incomplete 22nd floor, which is the top of the building at its current stage of construction.
The building, a luxury apartment block, is being developed by Mandalay Golden Wing Construction.
It was designed to rise to 34 floors, which would make it the tallest building in Yangon and in the entire country.
Mayangone Township Fire Brigade said 700 plywood sheets and 10 tonnes of timber were stored on the floor, and that they had recently discussed the matter with the construction engineer in charge.
The project started in 2012, and was expected to be completed next year.
Quoted from mmtimes.
