A Japanese businessman was killed when a fire tore through a luxury teak-wood hotel in Myanmar's largest city Yangon yesterday, destroying an iconic resort popular with foreign visitors.

Hundreds of firefighters tried to quell the blaze, which broke out at around 3am local time, but were unable to stop the flames from consuming the lakeside Kandawgyi Palace Hotel. Mr Htay Lwin of Htoo Group, which owns the hotel, said the authorities were probing what sparked the inferno.

The Japanese visitor who was killed was in his 50s, according to the Japanese Embassy. Two other people were injured.

Local residents lamented the loss of one of Yangon's iconic buildings, which was perched on a hill by a large picturesque lake in the centre of the city.

The oldest parts of the Kandawgyi hotel date back to the 1930s, when British army officers used the site as a rowing club. Guests have been moved to other hotels in Yangon.