Yangonites in the downtown area may have noticed a flurry of ambulances and fire crews racing north last night – they were heading to a large blaze in Kandawgyi Park.
A fire tore through the popular section of plant nurseries known as Myay Pade Thar Island in the northwestern part of the park at about 8pm. The number of injuries or casualties is so far unclear.
Myanmar Fire Services Department said its crews put out the fire near Nat Mauk Street at 8.55pm. Photos from the scene showed a shelter ablaze amid plant pots and sacks of soil.
The last major blaze in the park was in October 2017, when the landmark Kandawgyi Palace, which was largely made out of teak, was enveloped in flames. It took hundreds of firefighters several hours to put out the blaze, which killed one man and caused the evacuation of more than 140 guests. It is unclear how the fire began, with varying media reports of either a gas cylinder explosion or an electrical wire short-circuiting.
