Scores of people were rescued from a blazing building in Yangon’s Lanmadaw township early Thursday, many brought to safety with a cherry-picker crane from the highest floors.
Around 60 fire trucks raced to the 12-storey apartment block, which includes Than Zay market, as smoke and flames spread through the building.
No deaths had been reported by mid-morning and the cause of the blaze had not been established. News outlet The Myanmar Times reported 16 people were injured, while 84 people had been rescued from the building as of 9.27am, Myanmar Fire Services Department said in a Facebook post.
Nyi Nyi, 34, told AFP he ran out of his home to warn his elderly neighbours but was forced to retreat after nearly passing out.
"I couldn't see anything as it was too dark with smoke," he said, adding firefighters arrived just in time.
The fire service rescued people with a cherry-picker as smoke billowed out across the street, causing traffic to snarl up.
Yangon Book Plaza, a complex of shops and eateries on the fifth floor, posted on its Facebook page that fire fighters had saved the plaza from the fire.
After years of under-investment, Yangon's downtown buildings have notoriously poor safety standards and fires are common.
