10 houses gutted in Manipur town blaze, Myanmar firefighters cross border to help
At least ten houses were gutted in a massive fire that broke out on Saturday in Manipur’s border town of Moreh in Tengnoupal district, near the Indo-Myanmar Border.
No casualties were reported, officials said.
The blaze, suspected to have been caused by an electrical short circuit, started around 11 am in Muslim Basti, and quickly spread through the densely built neighbourhood. Fire tenders from the Manipur Fire Service, along with local residents, police personnel, commandos, and Assam Rifles troops, rushed to the spot to control the flames.
As the fire intensified, a team of firefighters from Myanmar crossed over the international boundary to assist their Indian counterparts in dousing the blaze, a rare instance of spontaneous cross-border cooperation.
“The fire spread immediately, and our team was struggling to contain it. The situation could have been much worse if the back-up teams from Myanmar had not arrived on time,” a police officer involved in the operation told India Today, requesting anonymity. All residents of the affected houses were safely evacuated, he added.
Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the exact cause of the fire and assess the extent of property loss.
Moreh, situated along the Indo-Myanmar Friendship Gate, is a key trading hub between the two countries, though trade has largely remained suspended since March 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic and continued unrest on both sides of the border.
Officials praised the swift action and cooperation between the two firefighting teams, calling it a “rare humanitarian gesture” amid tense cross-border conditions.
