ULAN BATOR: A blaze tore through the construction site of Mongolia’s first five-star hotel on Tuesday, although the reason for the downtown Ulan Bator fire remains unclear.

No deaths or injuries were reported at the site of the Shangri-La, a $123 million, 22-storey flagship hotel and apartment complex scheduled for completion in the latter half of this year.

Eyewitnesses said they saw insulation on the facade of the building engulfed in flames soon after the fire began on Tuesday afternoon.

“The outside began burning really quickly, and we thought it might collapse for a minute there,” eyewitness Michael Riera, 24, said.

“You could feel the heat from the fire from a hundred meters away. “Mongolian broadcaster Eagle TV reported that some 20 employees were safely evacuated from the building.

Police and emergency crews worked for over an hour before the fire was safely brought under control.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.

Hotel management could not be reached for comment.

Resource-rich Mongolia’s economy has exploded in recent years, as a relatively stable political environment has drawn in foreign investors keen to exploit its vast untapped reserves of coal, copper and gold.

Published in Dawn, October 1st , 2014