At least 14 people were killed and about 100 more injured after a fire broke out at an oil pipeline in central Burma, a government official said on Monday.
Authorities were battling to put out the blaze, which appeared to have been ignited accidentally by local villagers who were collecting oil leaking from the pipeline near Pakokku town in the Magway region.
"At least 14 people were killed," said the official, who did not want to be named. "There could be more casualties." The blaze began after about 200 villagers started collecting oil from the leaking pipeline yesterday and lit a flame to see in the dark, according to the official.
A local resident in Pakokku said "many people" were believed to have been taken to two local hospitals. The official said the authorities had shut down the 32-km long government-owned pipeline after the fire started.
Burma is rich in natural resources including oil and gas. But nearly a third of the population lives below the poverty line, according to World Bank figures, as the junta and its associates exploit raw materials for their own benefit.
The resources are a major target for energy-hungry Asian economies such as China, India and Thailand. Oil giants Total of France and Chevron of the United States are two of the biggest Western companies in Burma and have faced criticism from rights groups for their dealings with the regime.
Burma is due to hold its first election in 20 years on November 7 but Western nations have said the vote will not be credible unless detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other opposition figures are freed.