Residents of Zin Kyaik village, Paung Township, Mon State claim a fire that destroyed more than a 100 houses on the night of 25 December was a caused by an electric fault.
A woman villager who witnessed the incident told Karen News.
“A hundred houses are gone. People say that the fire was caused by an electric failure. The electricity is still cut.”
The woman said all houses, on the eastern and western side of the railway that cuts through the village were destroyed by the fire. Other residents said the fire started around 11:00pm and burned through the whole section within a short time and before firefighters arrived.
A resident said many people lost everything.
“The wind was strong, so the fire burned the whole section of houses quickly. People are estimating that the losses would cost millions of Kyat.”
Karen News tried contacting the fire department in Paung Town for information but at the time there was no response.
Zin Kyaik village is located on the highway connecting Rangoon [Yangon] and Malmein [Maw Lamyaing] and the village is famous for its waterfall.
Zin Kyaik’s Kyauk Thin Baw Waterfall is famous for its small hydropower built at the base of the waterfall by No.2 Electric Power Department and supplies electricity to the village. The small hydropower plant can supply electricity 24 hours for eight months annually producing 100 megawatt.
