A train in Myanmar carrying
petrol derailed and burst into flames, killing 25 people and injuring 62,
most of them villagers trying to collect fuel spilled in the accident,
state television said.
MRTV said the fire started after
three cars loaded with petrol turned over near a village in Kanbalu
township, near the Indian border, just over 500 km (300 miles) north of
Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city.
Residents of Chekgyi village
were gathered around the accident site trying to collect spilled petrol
when they were trapped in the fire. Some 70% of Myanmar's 60 million people
live on farms, where fuel is scarce.
An official from Myama Railway
Department told Reuters the death toll might rise as some villagers were
seriously injured. Myanmar is among Asia's poorest countries. Its
quasi-civilian government has opened up the country since taking over in
March 2011 from the military, which had ruled for nearly 50 years, and
pushed through political and economic reforms, leading Western countries to
relax sanctions.
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