A fire broke out at a warehouse owned by a jade-mining company in Kachin State’s Hpakant Township on Wednesday, causing extensive damage to vehicles and other property. No casualties were reported.
The incident occurred at around 7pm at a warehouse owned by the Yadanar Yaung Chi Gems company in the village of Yumar, according to local sources.
Kachin State lawmaker Dashi La Hseng told DVB the blaze lasted about three hours before firefighters could bring it under control.
“The blaze went on until about 10pm, burning on fuel tanks stored inside the warehouse. Spare vehicle parts including tires and mining equipment were destroyed, but nobody was injured,” he said, adding that officials were still working to calculate the amount of damage.
The cause of the fire is not yet known, but attacks on properties owned by mining companies are common in the area.
[related]
On 15 May, unknown assailants on motorcycles threw explosives into a compound in Yumar owned by the Kyal Lin company, destroying trucks, oil tankers and backhoes. That incident was linked to extortion demands by an unidentified armed group.
The previous week, a series of seven blasts rocked various locations around Hpakant, including one that injured a local woman.
A series of similar incidents in January of last year left at least half a dozen people injured, including four people at a police station that was the target of a grenade attack.
