Yangon, Myanmar – 19 October 2017 –
One person died when a fire tore through a luxury teak wood hotel in Myanmar’s main city Yangon, destroying the iconic resort which is popular with foreign visitors.
Hundreds of firefighters tried to quell the blaze, which broke out at around 3 am local time, but were unable to stop the flames from consuming the lakeside Kandawgyi Palace Hotel, Agence France-Presse reported.
The colonial-era structure is owned by a Myanmar businessman notorious for making his fortune under the former junta. Tay Za – a controversial tycoon who spun millions of dollars through his close military links, founded the Htoo Group, which spans construction, timber, resorts and an airline.
Locals lamented the loss of one of Yangon’s iconic buildings, which was perched on a hill by a large picturesque lake in the centre of the city.
The oldest parts of the Kandawgyi hotel date to the 1930s when British army officers used the site as a rowing club.