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A FIRE KILLED 13 students at a Muslim school in Myanmar’s main city early today, police said, raising tensions in the wake of sectarian clashes despite police assurances that the blaze was accidental.
The government called for calm and sent security forces to the scene after an angry crowd gathered demanding answers about the deadly fire in Yangon, which follows a wave of Buddhist-Muslim killings and arson in central Myanmar.
“Thirteen people, mostly children, were killed during a fire at a Muslim religious school in downtown Yangon,” a police officer at the scene told AFP. “We assume that it was due to an electrical short circuit.”
The doors to the building – which housed a mosque and a religious school where dozens of children were staying in a dormitory – were apparently locked, according to government spokesman Ye Htut, preventing the students from escaping until emergency services arrived.
Police promised to establish a committee – including Muslim leaders – to look into the cause, while the government urged people to avoid spreading rumours.
“Please don’t believe some news on the Internet portraying this case as a religious conflict,” Ye Htut posted on his Facebook page.
Safety standards
Safety standards are generally poor in impoverished Myanmar, which is emerging from decades of military rule.
Some Muslim leaders, however, voiced suspicions that the fire was started deliberately because students and teachers said they had slipped on an oily liquid on the ground floor while escaping.
“The oil smelled like petrol or diesel,” said Shine Win, a Muslim leader, urging the government to “reveal the truth”.
One student who escaped told AFP that his legs and clothes were dirty with the oily liquid.
“I slipped when I stepped on something like oil and almost fell down. As the fire was so big at that time, I didn’t recognise what it was,” he said.
Scorch marks scarred the outside of the building, according to an AFP reporter at the scene, as three military trucks carrying soldiers arrived to keep the peace.
Communal tensions are running high in the former army-ruled country after at least 43 people died last month in a wave of sectarian violence that saw mosques and homes burned down in several towns in central Myanmar.
The government has imposed emergency rule and curfews in some areas.
Yangon has been tense but mostly peaceful following the clashes, which were apparently triggered by an argument in a gold shop in the town of Meiktila that triggered a riot that later spread.
The conflict poses a major challenge for President Thein Sein, who has won international praise for his reform efforts since taking office two years ago.
The situation has calmed in recent days after the former general on Thursday vowed a tough response over the violence, which he blamed on “political opportunists and religious extremists”.
Sectarian strife involving Buddhists and Muslims in the western state of Rakhine last year left at least 180 people dead.
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Im not the greatest flyer and i owe that to watching too many Air Crash Investigater episodes.
My brother however is a commercial pilot and witnessing just how much training and subsequent examinations he must pass (high percentage pass rate) coupled with the regularity of quality aircraft maintenance and overhauls has reassured me that flying is extremely safe. Just look at how many lunatics we share our roads with and flying at times certainly looks a much safer form of transport!
I would be hesitant though to fly with some african/russian/asian carriers whose fleet, safety and maintenance may not be up to scratch.
As long as it’s not an Asian airline I’m ok.
Each to their own but some asian carriers are among the finest in the world, Cathay Pacific and Singapore were in my experience excellent. With wonderful service, friendly staff, an updated fleet and a good safety record i would have no hesitation in booking with them.
Pilots deserve every penny they get. We all take for granted getting to our destination safely. Yet we all have to thank these men and women for doing a great job in enabling us to do so. The emergency landing in gatwick yesterday just proves that.
We should be especially grateful to the female pilots.
Some of the knobs and controls are very complicated; and have you seen the colour schemes in those cockpits?
Well if Micheal O Leary, had his way they’d be serving snacks.
Jim go back to bed its not your time yet.
Jim, bored on your school holidays are you?
The little thing between your legs is your penis, do us all a favour and go off and play with it. We’re having an adult conversation here.
Grow up idiot
I’d say you’re grateful for any kind of interaction with females, although I can tell it doesn’t happen much. Which is probably for the best.
Google “pay to fly”. Some airlines, Air Asia included, actually charge new pilots to fly for them as it’s the only way they can gain experience.
The race-to-the-bottom attitude prevalent in the airline industry in the last decade may have delivered lower fares, but has resulted in crews salaries being driven down to unacceptable levels.
This has definitely not changed my perception on air travel.
This is because I was reading the untethered soul by Michael Singer over Christmas (5 stars!) and there was a quote that resonated with me – why fear certain things when no matter what you’re doing In life, you can guarantee that someone died that way; whether it’s sleeping, eating, showering, driving or sitting on a park bench, someone somewhere inhaled and didn’t exhale. And that includes using your iPhone like you are now.
I bet thousands more people died in their sleep in 2014; yet we long for and get excited to go to bed after a long day.
I think was he was trying to convey is to live in the now. We can’t do anything about when it when death comes knocking; One breath and you’re gone. No one knows when their time will be.
So why not be bold enough to regularly reflect on how you would live that last week? And then live that way.
Completely agree. If only road users were as professional as most pilots.
If a car breaks down I can walk a little. If a boat sinks I can swim a little. If a plane falls out of the sky I can’t fly a little.
You can fly a little. Landing is the hard part.
No. Flying is the safest form of transport. MH17 and MH370 were not normal air disasters. Accidents do happen eg AF447 but you can’t live your life worrying about a one in a million chance of something going wrong. We have people dying on our roads every day yet you are not running a poll “are you scared of driving”. I’ve flown over 40,000 km this year and never once gave it a second thought
A person has more of a chance to lose his / her life while crossing the road than in a aircraft accident.
When your time is up,
Your time is up….
No one knows when, where or how we’re going leave this world….
Life is for living ,
we’ll be dead long enough….
What if the pilot’s time is up?!
Paddy you don’t need a comment to answer your question ?
@Paddy, that’s why they have a co-pilot, in case the pilots time is up. It’s happened a few times apparently, usually a heart attack despite intensive medicals for pilots
What if the pilot’s time is up and the co-pilot’s time is also up???
still safer then having to drive down the country for a weekend
Where’s ‘the country’ ?
outside Leinster , here there be dragons
Statistically, you are more likely to be involved in an accident on your way to the airport than on an airplane. So if you make it to the airport in one piece you’ve already beaten the odds.
A nugget of wisdom from the beginning of Dumb and Dumber :-)
I’m terrified of flying at the best of times, these crashes dont help at all.
Yes but you dont have some nut job suicide bomber in your car or some nut job shooting surfice to air missiles at your car i think flying is safe but it depends were you are flying too.
Just lots of inexperienced speeding but jobs and drunk nutjobs on the road
No, I’ve always been terrified. Stupid living on an island!!!
No… I fly long haul 2-3 times a month. I couldn’t afford to be afraid of flying.
Statistically it’s still the safest way of flying. They calculated that thousands of people lost their lives in road accidents in the USA because they irrationally chose to drive over flying post 9/11.
One of those planes was shot out of the sky and as horrible as that is, it’s something that’s likely to not happen a lot.
I used to hate flying but quite enjoy it now, and these few incidents don’t phase me at all. I’m more afraid of some of the lunatics on the road then I am of air travel.
I had a bad experience years ago on a flight from Heathrow to Dublin and ever since I’m a quivering wreck for days before taking a flight. I have to admire people who are involved in emergency situations and then trot out within hours and get on another plane or worse still, the same plane.
Scariest ever plane crash story, in the book about the Lockerbie plane bombing…,it tells of a family sitting on the sofa eating their tea & watching Corrie. Then a very loud noise & through their roof into the sitting room in front of them, drops a row of 3 joined aircraft seats, with 3 dead passengers still with their safety belts on. Well, that image is hard to shake off.
Great book out called Cockpit Confidential by Patrick Smith. Anyone who loves flying (or not) should read it
“No” and “No, I don’t think so” are the same thing.
We should be more fearful of US Government than any aircraft or airline company.
You mean the same US Government who subsidises the largest commercial aircraft manufacturer on the globe?
The Same US Government that uses head hacking terrorists to push its foreign political agendas.
Frank, do you ever get bored trying to bring every story back to the “evil US” your picture of a Pussy really sums you up i’m afraid.
No. 1200 people died in plane crashes worldwide this year. 200 died on the roads in Ireland this year. We (2 adults, 2 children) flew to New Zealand this year with Malaysia airlines after mh370 but before mh17, we flew over Ukraine as did thousands of other planes this year before mh17 was shot down. We have family in New Zealand and flying is the only way to see them.
Good point but surely a ticket for a flight with the name “S. Claus” would never crash. Has to be lucky, look at all the air miles your namesake has clocked up!
From the time you board your aircraft, right up until the time you land and reach the arrivals gate, you could become a statistic.
From the time you wake up until the time you get your arse out of bed, you could become a statistic. It’s a total non-point.
Yes Wasna, one of the almost 3 billion people who takes a flight during the course of a year.
I watched a film where a plane crashed and they had to eat the people that had died just to survive. I can’t think of the name of the film but after seeing that my feet are never going to be up in the sky. RIP to all the victims and their families xxx
Enjoy spending the rest of your life on this sh!tty Island so
Alive. Argentinian Rugby team.
I’m saying no now – but going Bali on Sunday and bet you I’ll think about it with every bit if turbulence !
Wear your seatbelt in the car going to the airport too, make sure tires pressure is correct, brake work, watch for black ice, etc. Far greater chance of getting ploughed down while getting to the airport! There’s something to think of for the week.
Ffs so from the 4 news worthy air incidents this year 2014, roughly 30% of you are now afraid to flying?
/smh
There are approximately 35 million commercial flights globally per year (90,000 per day) and because of these 4 disasters which in fairness Sky News and other media outlets dragged the utter balls out of for months with nothing but fear-mongering and baseless conjecture, there’s still over 2300 of ye so far have said Yes.
How can that be? Seriously!
Hey Tom Red.
What happens if the pilots number is up?
Seems stupid to have to say this but only fly with reputable airlines…if you are the panicky sort you can do 3 things to ally your fears..
1)go to airlineratings.com and check how your airline is rated
2) go to airliners.net and read up on which type of aircraft you will fly…
And the best one is
3) airfleets.net…you can enter your airplanes tail reg no on the page while in the airport before you fly to get a complete breakdown on its service history, age, how many flights logged and logged incidents etc….
Depends on the region in question. Some areas in the world have very lax standards in terms of maintenance and safety. I wouldn’t fly with African/Asian carriers for example
Is it just airbus??
Shiet happens
Was due to fly to Malaysia tomorrow but have cancelled. Any of theses low cost airlines are dangerous. Have changed flights and will go Thursday.
Good call, Thursdays are far safer to fly on than Tuesdays.
I’m sure there’s been more fatal road crashes on the island of Ireland than there has been air disasters in the whole world.
I believe a lot of the asian carriers only pay the equivalent of 5 euro an hour to their pilots which is still a very low salary even when the cost of living is taken into account.
There’s a list of Asian airlines that aren’t allowed to fly into Europe for various concerns, and this carrier wasn’t on that list.
Ya
Am flying to Malaysia in January but with a well known airline, They have a good safety record but I feel a bit
Worried yet I love flying. I fly long hauls a lot. However, this. Air Asia tragedy was scary. RIP to the passengers
And deep sympathy to the families who have lost their loved ones.
There is no such thing as fear of flying – it is the fear of suddenly not flying.
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