Beijing, Oct. 23 (Jiji Press)–A massive grassland fire that broke out in a nature reserve in Mongolia earlier this month has been linked to a local unit of Japanese telecommunications carrier KDDI Corp. The fire reportedly spread from one of the vehicles carrying Japanese executives and other officials of Mobicom Corp. on Oct. 8, after the convoy entered the protected area in the easternmost Mongolia province of Dornod. It was put out on Oct. 16, after burning about 530,000 hectares. The affected areas are reportedly home to rare wildlife. KDDI said that Japanese executives and other officials of Mobicom were at the site to test a telecommunications network. “We take extremely seriously the fact that the fire broke out in connection with Mobicom’s activities and had a significant impact on Mongolia’s natural environment. We deeply apologize” for the incident, KDDI said in a statement. The Japanese Embassy in Mongolia on Thursday expressed its intention to cooperate with the Mongolian side in efforts to restore the affected areas. The fire approached the Chinese border, prompting the deployment of about 3,400 firefighters and other personnel to prevent it from spreading further, according to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
