Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at Kandawgyi Palace hotel in Yangon, Myanmar October 19, 2017 . REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
YANGON, October 19 (Reuters) - One person was injured in a massive fire that destroyed one of Yangon's best-known hotels on Thursday, sending clouds of dark smoke billowing over the centre of Myanmar's largest city and triggering an hours-long battle to put out the flames.
It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, which broke out around 3:20 a.m. at the teak-and-stone Kandawgyi Palace Hotel overlooking a picturesque inner-city lake, authorities told Reuters.
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Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at Kandawgyi Palace hotel in Yangon, Myanmar October 19, 2017 . REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun[/caption]
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Pye Phyo Tay Za, Managing Director of the Htoo Group of Companies, looks at a fire at Kandawgyi Palace hotel in Yangon, Myanmar October 19, 2017 . REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun[/caption]
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Police officers stand guard during a fire at Kandawgyi Palace hotel in Yangon, Myanmar October 19, 2017 . REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun[/caption]
There were no fatalities and only one Chinese citizen was injured, said Yangon police colonel Myint Htwe.
The fire had been mostly extinguished by 7 a.m. and guests have been shifted to nearby hotels.
The hotel is owned by Htoo Group, chaired by business tycoon Tay Za, who until last year was on the list of United States sanctions for his close links to Myanmar's former military regime.
Myanmar's civilian-led government, helmed by Nobel laureate and former dissident Aung San Suu Kyi, is grappling with the aftermath of a harsh military crackdown that has driven out more than 500,000 of the country's Rohingya Muslim minority.
