Tibetan tourist town destroyed by fire

The fire was started accidentally in a guest house but quickly spread through the Tibetan area, destroying the tourist town of Dukezong in its entirety

entirety, according to local media reports.

More than 240 houses and shops have been burned to the ground, with more than 2,600 residents dislocated as a result of the accident which has caused an estimated £10million in damage according to state media.

Witnesses described being woken by the sound of a loud explosion to find the town, which is made up of predominantly wooden

An entire town has been destroyed and hundreds of homes burned to the ground after a fire ravaged a popular tourist area in southwest China this morning.

Fire engines were unable to put out the blaze in Shangri-La in Yunnan province, leaving residents no choice but to take to the narrow streets with buckets of water. The fire was started accidentally in a guesthouse but quickly spread through the Tibetan area, destroying the tourist town of Dukezong in its buildings, engulfed by flames.

‘The fire was huge, the wind was blowing hard, and the air was dry,’ said one resident, He Yu. ‹I was scared because my home is a little distance away from the ancient town.

‹It kept burning, and the firefighters were there, but there was little they could do because they could not get the fire engines onto the old town›s narrow streets.› The blaze was brought under control at around 11am this morning more than

t e n h o u r s after it was started in the Dukezong guesthouse.

Shangri-La, formerly known as Gyaitang Zong, was renamed in 2001 to refer to the fictional Himalayan land mentioned in the novel James Hilton novel, Lost Horizon.

The region’s old town, Dukezong, was renovated into a cluster of shops and guesthouses in a bid to boost tourism.

State media reports claim the fire was easily spread as the majority of buildings in the area were made from wood. Dry weather conditions and strong winds are also thought to have encouraged the blaze. The town which is more than 1,300 years old is known as one of the largest and best preserved Tibetan sanctuaries in China.

The popular tourist area of Shangri-La has been destroyed by the fire which ravaged the ancient Tibetan town for more than ten hours More than 2,000 volunteers, residents and fire fighters are thought to have been involved in rescue efforts in the village which was turned into a cluster of shops and guesthouses in 2001 Witnesses describe being woken up by what sounded like a loud explosion at around 1.30am on Sunday morning and finding the town which is 1,300 years old ablaze