HONG KONG: A wooden pagoda – Asia’s tallest – and a prayer hall at a Buddhist temple in southwestern China burnt to the ground on Sunday in a mystery blaze. The flames were extinguished about four hours later, by which time the structure had been completely destroyed. In videos posted online, the temple’s 16-storey pagoda can be seen engulfed in bright flames and black smoke. Photographs published by local newspaper Chengdu Commercial Daily showed that by the time the fire was put out, the pagoda was nothing more than a pile of charred wood. The cause of the blaze was as yet unknown and an investigation was under way, the government said.

Source: New Strait Times December 15, 2017 01:41 UTC