FILE/CHINA: Blaze destroys more than 100 houses in the ancient Tibetan town of Dukezong in Shangri-la county

Record ID: 872646

  • Title: FILE/CHINA: Blaze destroys more than 100 houses in the ancient Tibetan town of Dukezong in Shangri-la county
  • Date: 11th January 2014
  • Summary: DUKEZONG, SHANGRI-LA COUNTY, DEQEN TIBETAN AUTONOMOUS PREFECTURE, YUNNAN PROVINCE, CHINA (FILE - MARCH 2007) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) PEOPLE WALKING ON STREET WOMAN LOOKING AT GOODS IN SHOP MAN COOKING IN SQUARE PRAYER WHEEL ON HILL DETAIL OF PRAYER WHEEL AS IT ROTATES TOWN WITH MOUNTAINS IN BACKGROUND
  • Embargoed: 26th January 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • City:
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Disasters,Environment
  • Reuters ID: LVA9NF05W8DPSVJRMMU5K1YLL8W
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Fire-fighters extinguished a blaze which destroyed much of an ancient Tibetan town in southwest China on Saturday (January 11), state media reported.
    The blaze tore through wooden buildings in the heart of Dukezong in Shangri-la county, also known as Zhongdian, in the early hours of the morning.
    It destroyed over 100 houses and incurred a loss of around 100 million yuan ($16.5 million U.S. dollars), local authorities estimated.
    A sustained period of dry weather meant that the fire spread quickly, the Xinhua news agency reported.
    Over 1,000 people fought the fire with water cannons and by tearing wood off the roofs of nearby buildings which had not yet caught fire, Xinhua said.
    The fire had been put out by around noon local time, CCTV reported.
    No casualties had been reported, and authorities had evacuated people to a safe area, Xinhua said.
    The county, which was officially renamed Shangri-la in recent years after the fictional mountain paradise, is a popular tourist destination, nestled on a plateau 3,000 above sea level, with a view of towering mountains.
    Dukezong was first built during the Tang Dynasty over 1,000 years ago, Xinhua said.
    The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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