Two fires destroy part of luxury Andaman resort
A luxury hotel in the Malaysia resort of Langkawi is believed to have been partly destroyed by fire.
A blaze that broke out on Tuesday afternoon in a wooden building at the The Andaman Resort took 40 firefighters six hours to bring under control.
But several hours later a second fire broke out and firefighters battled for a further 12 hours to put it out.
It is thought that all staff and guests were safely evacuated from the hotel.
It is understood that the fire originally started in the hotel’s kitchen, but investigations are still ongoing.
In a statement, the Marriott-owned 155-room hotel said: "We can confirm that a fire broke out at The Andaman on Tuesday, 12 January 2021.
"As soon as we were aware of the incident, we informed the authorities and moved swiftly to evacuate the hotel.
"As an additional safety precaution, all guests have been relocated to our sister property while investigations are ongoing. Our utmost priority is to ensure the safety of our guests and associates.
"We are working closely and in cooperation with the fire department to determine the cause of the fire. As this matter is under investigation, we are unable to provide further information."
Photographs of the scene show a wooden building, which might be the hotel lobby, that appears to have been completely gutted by the fire.
The Andaman is part of Marriott’s Luxury Collection.
By Linsey McNeill, Editor (UK)
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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