According to eyewitnesses and the police an explosion and a fire burned down a shop at the main market of Ponnagyun Township, Arakan State, Burma on the evening of 11th November.
The explosion started at a shop where they filled gas bottles at about 4pm. The fire burned down the shop but was then extinguished by other shopkeepers and no other shops were affected said an eyewitness.
U San Shwe Kyaw, a Ponnagyun resident said: “We heard two explosions from the shop and when we went to look there was a shop on fire and smoke was coming out so we put out the fire.
Even after the fire had been extinguished there were explosions caused by gas bottles, firecrackers, squibs and saltpeter that were stored in the shop according to an eyewitness.
A Ponnaguyun resident said: “We managed to put out the fire in time so only one shop burned down. If it had happened at night the whole market could have burned down.”
The owner of the shop that burned down was U Naw Naw, a 45 year old resident of Sanpya Ward in Ponnagyun Township.
According to police he closed up the shop and left at 4pm just before the fire started.
Translated by Aung Myat Soe English version written by Mark Inkey for BNI
