Myanmar firefighters cross border to help douse blaze in Manipur’s Moreh

Police are yet to determine the exact cause of the fire, but a short circuit is suspected to have triggered the blaze around 11 am in Ward 5 of Moreh, Manipur’s border town

Imphal: A team of firefighters from Myanmar, in a show of cross-border cooperation, crossed into Indian territory to assist their Manipur counterparts in dousing a fire that gutted at least 10 houses in Tengnoupal district on Saturday, police said. No casualties were reported during the incident.

The fire had spread to at least 10 houses in the area when firefighters from Myanmar crossed over into Indian territory and helped extinguish the uncontrolled blaze.

Police are yet to determine the exact cause of the fire, but a short circuit is suspected to have triggered the blaze around 11 am in Ward 5 of Moreh, Manipur’s border town.

The fire had spread to at least 10 houses in the area when firefighters from Myanmar crossed over into Indian territory and helped extinguish the uncontrolled blaze.

“The fire spread immediately and our firefighter was unable to control the fire. Moreh could have been worse if backup teams from Myanmar had not come in time,” a police officer told HT, requesting anonymity. He added that security forces had safely evacuated all the residents of the affected houses.

Local residents of the area, initially assisted by the Manipur Fire Service, police personnel, commandos, and the Assam Rifles, had reached the spot to extinguish the fire; however, it spread quickly.

Moreh has been a major trade centre and business hub of Northeast India for the importation of foreign goods through the land route. However, after the pandemic broke out, the Indo-Myanmar Friendship Gate was indefinitely shut down on March 9, 2020.

The shutdown was extended due to the unrest in Manipur and Myanmar that followed the pandemic. However, the Indo-Myanmar Friendship Gate was reopened during the deportation of illegal Myanmar nationals from Indian territory (Manipur).