Nömrög Grassland Fire in Dornod, Mongolia: Accounts from the Parties Involved

This post was split off from the “Accounts” section of Nömrög (Numrug) Grassland Fire in Dornod, Mongolia: Satellite Monitoring and Weather and is updated separately. Satellite monitoring, the burned area and the assessment near the border are in that post.

Satellites can establish when and where the fire started. For what happened before and after ignition, the only sources are the accounts of the parties involved. This post records, in chronological order, the statements issued and the interviews given by Mongolian government bodies, the company Mobicom, and Chinese official sources. Each party is cited only through its own channels or through original reporting on it. As of 11-09, the Mongolian side has not published investigation findings on the cause of the fire.

Reported ignition time and place names

The Xinhua report of 10-11³ states that “around 13:00 on October 9, a fire broke out inside Mongolia along the border of East Ujimqin Banner, Xilin Gol League” (10 月 9 日 13 时许，锡林郭勒盟东乌珠穆沁旗边境一线蒙古国境内发生火情). This is the time when fire appeared on this border section, one day after the ignition in the satellite record. From 10-04 to 10-12 there were no fire detections of significant size across the border from East Ujimqin Banner (44–46.5°N, 114–119°E). The border along the south side of this Mongolian protrusion adjoins both East Ujimqin Banner and Hinggan League. By the geoBoundaries county-level boundaries, the Chinese side opposite the southern edge of the fire area belongs to East Ujimqin Banner. The “East Ujimqin Banner border line” (东乌旗边境一线) in the news therefore refers to the southern edge of this fire. The CNR report of 10-12⁴ states that “around 13:00 on October 9, a fire broke out inside Mongolia north of Mandubaolige town, East Ujimqin Banner, Xilin Gol League, and the fire line was about 23 km from the East Ujimqin Banner border line” (10 月 9 日 13 时许，锡林郭勒盟东乌珠穆沁旗满都宝力格镇北侧蒙古国境内发生火情，火线离东乌珠穆沁旗边境线约 23 公里). This bearing matches the ignition point determined from the satellites. Note: 23 km differs from the distance of about 27 km between the ignition point and the border given in this post. CNR gives the position of the fire line at 13:00 on 10-09, while this post gives the ignition point on 10-08. The two refer to different times and different features, and this post has not checked them point by point.

The report of the Hinggan League Forestry and Grassland Bureau on 10-16⁵ is more specific: “at 12:15 on October 8, the Sanguangshan watchtower of the Bailang Forestry Bureau observed a large grassland fire inside Mongolia about 40 km from our league’s border” (10 月 8 日 12 时 15 分，白狼林业局三广山望火楼观测发现蒙古国境内距我盟边境约 40 公里处发生草原大火), and “at 13:00 on October 9, the large Mongolian grassland fire spread on the northwest wind to the border of East Ujimqin Banner, Xilin Gol League” (10 月 9 日 13 时，蒙古国草原大火借助西北风蔓延至锡林郭勒盟东乌珠穆沁旗边境). The sighting at 12:15 is 24–34 minutes after the ignition in the satellite record. The first FY-4C detection published by NSMC on 10-09 is at 11:50, at 119.40°E, 46.87°N¹, 25 minutes before the watchtower sighting. The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) article of 10-20² says that “at 12:40 on October 8, the Inner Mongolia Meteorological Service detected through satellite remote sensing a grassland fire in Dornod Province, Mongolia” (10月8日12时40分，内蒙古自治区气象局通过卫星遥感监测发现蒙古国东方省出现草原火情), 50 minutes after the first FY-4C detection. Note: in the OSM 2026-10-25 snapshot, the ignition point (46.883°N, 119.395°E) is 27.3 km from the nearest point of the China–Mongolia border, which lies on the East Ujimqin Banner section; the nearest point of the Hinggan League section is 33.5 km away, on the Arxan City section, and the Horqin Right Front Banner section is 38.4 km away. East Ujimqin Banner and Arxan City do not meet on the border; Horqin Right Front Banner lies between them, and the point where Horqin Right Front Banner and Arxan City meet on the border is 40.2 km from the ignition point. This post has not found the location of the Sanguangshan watchtower. In the satellite record, the Mongolian fire front in the south section at 12:44–13:27 on 10-09 was 5–8 km north of the border, which differs from the statement that it “spread to the border”; the report may refer to a different position, and this post has not checked them point by point.

The Mongolian official reports give the same ignition date as the satellite record. The state news agency Montsame on 10-12⁶ quotes the Eastern Regional Emergency Management Department:

Энэ сарын 8-ны өдөр Дорнод аймгийн Халхгол сумын Цогтсүмбэр багийн нутаг, Бичигтийн өндөрүүд гэдэг газарт хээрийн түймэр гарсан юм.

On the 8th of this month, a grassland fire broke out at a place called Бичигтийн өндөрүүд (the Bichigt heights) in the territory of Цогтсүмбэр (Tsogt-Sümber) bag, Khalkhgol soum, Dornod Province.

The earliest Mongolian report found for this post is from 10-11. It can therefore only be said that the ignition date in the Mongolian reports matches the satellites; when the Mongolian side first announced the fire is not known. Other Mongolian reports:

• ikon.mn 10-11⁷:

  …3 өдөр ажилласан ч цурамд оруулж чадаагүй байна.

  …after 3 days of work, it still could not be brought under control.

• The Mongolian National Broadcaster (МҮОНРТ 10-12⁸), relaying NEMA:

  …Халхгол суманд энэ сарын 08-нд гарсан хээрийн гал түймрийг өнөөдөр (2026.10.12) 00:55 цагт цурамд оруулж, бүрэн унтраахаар ажиллаж байна.

  …the grassland fire that broke out in Khalkhgol soum on the 8th of this month was brought under control today (2026.10.12) at 00:55, and work is under way to extinguish it completely.

  Note: the satellites still show a resurgence during the day on 10-12, with 196–305 fire pixels per overpass from 11:45 to 14:35 and the main fire line along the border west of Arxan.

• The Montsame 10-12⁶ headline and article:

  Нөмрөгийн дархан цаазат газрын 80 орчим хувийг түймэр хамарчээ

  Fire has covered about 80% of the Nömrög Strictly Protected Area

  Түймэр баруунаас зүүн тийш 96 км, урдаас хойш 82 км газар нутгийг хамарсан…

  The fire covered an area of 96 km from west to east and 82 km from south to north…

  Note: the bounding box of the burn scar in this post is 118.85–119.92°E, 46.61–47.43°N, about 81 km west–east and about 91 km south–north. The magnitudes agree, but the lengths in the two directions do not fully match the report, which does not say how they were measured.

The Mongolian place name near the ignition point is Нөмрөг, romanised Nömrög, Numrug or Nomrog; English sources call the reserve the Nömrög, Numrug or Nomrog Strictly Protected Area. In Chinese it is rendered 努木尔格 in this post and 努姆鲁格 by Guancha⁹. Other names in this post also have more than one spelling: Khalkhgol soum (Халхгол; also Khalkh Gol, Halhgol), Sümber (Сүмбэр; also Sumber), Arxan (阿尔山; also Arshaan), Hinggan League (兴安盟; also Xing’an League) and East Ujimqin Banner (东乌珠穆沁旗; also Dong Ujimqin). Nomonhan (Номон хан), the site of the 1939 Battle of Nomonhan, lies on the lower Khalkh River northwest of the fire area and is a different place from Nömrög.

Border crossing event and entry permits before the fire

Mongolia’s General Authority for Border Protection issued a statement on 10-14. GoGo.mn reprinted it in full on 10-14¹⁰; Eguur.mn on 10-14¹¹ reprinted the part from the entry permits onward. The statement opens with the time and place of ignition and the suppression effort:

Дорнод аймгийн Халхгол сумын Цогтсүмбэр багийн “Бичигтийн-Өндөр” нэртэй газар, улсын хилээс 45 км зайд 2026 оны 10 дугаар сарын 08-ны өдрийн 11.50 цагт хээрийн түймэр гарч, Нөмрөгийн дархан цаазат газрыг хамран тархсан.

At 11:50 on October 8, 2026, a grassland fire broke out at a place called “Бичигтийн-Өндөр” in Цогтсүмбэр bag, Khalkhgol soum, Dornod Province, 45 km from the state border, and spread over the Nömrög Strictly Protected Area.

нийт 60 бүлэг, 606 хүн, 100 нэгж техник хэрэгсэлтэй 10 дугаар сарын 08-13-ны өдрүүдэд ажиллаж, цурамд оруулсан.

A total of 60 groups, 606 people and 100 units of equipment worked on October 8–13 and brought the fire under control.

The responders were the emergency management departments of Dornod, Sükhbaatar, Khentii, Dornogovi and Ömnögovi provinces and Baganuur district, fire and rescue unit 62 in Khalkhgol soum, the soum leadership and residents, staff of the protected area administration, border unit 0198, and emergency services of the neighbouring country.

Note: 11:50 matches the 11:41–11:51 recorded by Himawari-9 and GK-2A. The ignition point used in this post, the pixel where both geostationary satellites first detected warming (46.88°N, 119.40°E), is about 27 km from the border, 18 km closer than the 45 km in the statement. The statement gives no coordinates and does not say how the distance was measured.

On the entry permits, the statement says that Colonel Б.Гантөгс, commander of border unit 0198, acting on applications and under the relevant provisions of law, issued border-zone entry permits to the border crossing administration, Mobicom management and local residents attending the opening ceremony for the fiber connection at the Sümber border crossing. The statement does not list the names of the 13 people. The relevant passages:

хилийн Сүмбэр боомтыг өндөр хурдны шилэн кабельд холбох арга хэмжээний нээлт

opening of the event to connect the Sümber border crossing to high-speed fiber-optic cable

нийт 13 хүн (5 автомашин)-д 2026 оны 10 дугаар сарын 06-08-ны өдрүүдэд хилийн бүсэд нэвтрэх зөвшөөрлийг

permits for a total of 13 people (5 vehicles) to enter the border zone on October 6–8, 2026

For the date of the event, the statement of the General Authority for Border Protection gives October 6 (“10 дугаар сарын 06-ны өдөр”). State Great Khural member У.Отгонбаяр, who attended the opening event, also gives the morning of the 6th in an interview¹² with the newspaper Зууны мэдээ; the reports by Eguur.mn on 10-12¹³ and urug.mn on 10-13¹⁴ give 10-07. According to this member:

Тэр арга хэмжээг Хил хамгаалах ерөнхий газар, аймгийн ЗДТГ зохион байгуулсан.

The event was organized by the General Authority for Border Protection and the provincial Governor’s Office.

Арга хэмжээнд Мобиком, аймгийн ЗДТГ, ХХЕГ бүгд оролцсон.

Mobicom, the provincial Governor’s Office and the General Authority for Border Protection all took part in the event.

The second half of the Border Protection statement responds to claims circulating online about this member and the commander of border unit 0198:

Улсын Их Хурлын гишүүн У.Отгонбаяр, хилийн цэргийн 0198 дугаар ангийн захирагч хурандаа Б.Гантөгс нар 10 дугаар сарын 06-ны өдөр дээрх арга хэмжээний нээлтэд оролцоод Дорнод аймаг, Халх гол сум руу буцсан бөгөөд хээрийн түймэр гарах үед тухайн газар оронд байгаагүй болно.

State Great Khural member У.Отгонбаяр and Colonel Б.Гантөгс, commander of border unit 0198, attended the opening of the above event on October 6, then returned to Khalkh Gol soum, Dornod Province, and were not in the area when the grassland fire broke out.

Иймд цахим орчинд тархаад буй хээрийн түймэр гарахад эдгээр иргэдтэй хамт явсан, архидан согтуурсан, авлига авсан, зодолдсон, ан агнасан зэрэг нь бодит бус, ташаа мэдээлэл болохыг мэдэгдье.

We therefore state that the information circulating online that they were travelling with these people when the fire broke out, drinking, taking bribes, fighting or hunting is untrue and false.

This post has not checked where these claims originated.

Mobicom and KDDI

Mobicom’s statement of 10-12 (reprinted in full by ikon.mn¹⁵) says:

Халхголын хилийн отрядын бүс заставыг 4G сүлжээнд холбож, Сүмбэр хилийн боомтод шилэн кабелийн холболт нэвтрүүлсэн ажлыг хүлээлгэн өгөх ажиллагаанд оролцоод, цаашид харилцаа холбооны сүлжээ нэвтрүүлэх боломжийг судлах, газар орны нөхцөл байдалтай танилцах үеэр тээврийн хэрэгсэлд гал гарч, тухайн бүс нутагт хээрийн түймэр гарсан харамсалтай үйл явдал болсон

the group took part in the handover of the work connecting the zone outposts of the Khalkhgol border detachment to the 4G network and bringing a fiber-optic connection to the Sümber border crossing, and afterward, while studying the possibility of extending the telecommunications network further and assessing the local terrain conditions, a vehicle caught fire, and the regrettable incident of a grassland fire breaking out in that area occurred

At 20:58 on 10-14, NTV МЭДЭЭ, the news channel of the Mongolian television station NTV, uploaded a 128-second interview¹⁶ to YouTube. The interviewee’s identity follows NTV’s attribution. The title and the video description:

Мобиком корпорацийн гүйцэтгэх захирал Ясүхиро Очи-оос бид тодруулга авлаа

We sought clarification from Mobicom Corporation CEO Yasuhiro Ochi

Тэрээр Монголын ард түмнээс уучлал хүсэж, тогтоогдсон нөхцөл байдал, холбогдсон хуулийн дагуу учирсан хохирлыг бүрэн барагдуулна гэж мэдэгдлээ.

He apologized to the Mongolian people and stated that the damage caused will be fully compensated in accordance with the established circumstances and the relevant law.

Mobicom’s official Facebook page, mobicom.official, posted a 134-second vertical video of an interview¹⁷, with Mongolian subtitles and Ochi’s name caption on screen. The page data gives the posting time as 21:15 on 10-14, 17 minutes after NTV’s video; whether the two come from the same interview has not been checked. The video description:

Бид байгаль орчинд учруулсан хохиролдоо гүнээ харамсаж, Монголын ард түмнээс чин сэтгэлээсээ уучлал хүсэж байна. Бид хариуцлагаас зайлсхийхгүй бөгөөд холбогдох бүх шатны байгууллагын дүгнэлт, шийдвэр гарсан даруйд зохих ёсоор хүлээж, бүрэн хамтран ажиллах болно. Та бүхнээс дахин чин сэтгэлээсээ уучлал хүсье. #mobicom

We deeply regret the damage we caused to the environment and sincerely apologize to the Mongolian people. We will not evade responsibility; as soon as the conclusions and decisions of the relevant authorities at all levels are issued, we will duly bear it and cooperate fully. Once again, we sincerely apologize to all of you.

Ochi speaks Japanese in the video. The Japanese in the table below was transcribed from the video’s audio with whisper-large-v3, with place names corrected against the subtitles. It has not been checked by ear sentence by sentence, and the original video takes precedence. The Mongolian subtitles were copied from screenshots taken once per second and grouped by Japanese sentence; the copy has not been checked by a Mongolian speaker. Times are when each sentence starts in the audio.

English translation of the Japanese speech:

First, I deeply apologize for the fire that broke out on 8 October 2026 in Khalkhgol, Dornod Province, in the Nömrög protected area, which affected the natural environment and caused damage. I myself, on behalf of Mobicom and also personally, sincerely apologize.

We believe we must properly fulfil our social responsibility. The cause and the extent of the damage will be confirmed by the investigation of the relevant authorities; we will cooperate fully with the investigation and, on the basis of its results and the relevant bills, fulfil our social responsibility and take the necessary measures that we as a company should take. Your concerns are entirely understandable. We deeply apologize for the damage to the natural environment, and I wish to apologize once again to the people of Mongolia.

We will cooperate and coordinate closely with the relevant authorities and respond responsibly on the basis of the investigation results. In accordance with the confirmed events and facts and the related bills, we will take the necessary steps and work responsibly on restoring the natural environment.

I truly want to thank everyone who took part in the firefighting, the nature rangers and the many others involved; we have caused you trouble. I thank you deeply. Mobicom will continue to work steadily on protecting the natural environment, on local development, and on extending coverage for the people of Mongolia. We are truly sorry for the trouble we have caused.

Note: the Japanese speech contains neither 「賠償」 nor 「補償」 (compensation). The nearest sentence is 「当社が当社として対応すべき必要な措置を講じます」 (we will take the necessary measures that we as a company should take). NTV’s description says full compensation, and the subtitle in the 0:41 row reads “учирсан хохирлыг барагдуулахтай холбоотой шаардлагатай арга хэмжээг авах болно” (we will take the necessary measures related to compensating the damage caused). The subtitles differ from the speech in several other places. The opening “Ясухиро Очи миний бие” (I, Yasuhiro Ochi) in the 0:21 row has no counterpart in the speech, and the audio is silent for about 3 seconds before it. “Бид хариуцлагаас зайлсхийхгүй.” (we will not evade responsibility) in the 0:29 row has no counterpart. The 1:35 row lists emergency service personnel, local residents and local authorities, who are not mentioned in the speech, and leaves out 「ご迷惑をおかけしました」 (we have caused you trouble). The final apology at 2:06 has no subtitle. The video description contains the same “Бид хариуцлагаас зайлсхийхгүй” as the 0:29 subtitle, and it describes the damage as “учруулсан” (that we caused), where the 0:00 subtitle has “учирсан” (that occurred). 「関係法案」 (relevant bills) came out the same in three transcriptions and is kept as heard.

According to the Mongolian legal-entity registry¹⁸, Mobicom’s shareholder is KDDI Overseas Holdings B.V., which makes it a subsidiary of KDDI. The press releases, group news and IR announcements in the KDDI newsroom¹⁹ contained no item related to this fire before 10-23; its first announcement was posted on 10-23 and is quoted below. NHK, Kyodo News, Jiji Press, Nikkei, Asahi Shimbun, Yomiuri Shimbun, Mainichi Shimbun and Sankei Shimbun had no related reports as of 10-19. The first report in a mainstream Japanese outlet was a short Kyodo News dispatch at 22:07 JST on 10-20 (21:07 UTC+8)²⁰, about 297 hours, or 12 days and 9 hours, after ignition; Sankei Shimbun and other papers carried it that evening. Kyodo wrote that KDDI, asked by Kyodo that day, acknowledged that Japanese Mobicom executives had been inside the protected area and commented:

モビコムの活動に関連して火災が発生し、自然環境に多大な影響を与えたことを極めて重く受け止める

We take extremely seriously that a fire occurred in connection with Mobicom’s activities and had a major impact on the natural environment

The dispatch attributes its account of how the fire started to Xinhua.

KDDI’s 10-21 written reply to an inquiry from Alterna²¹ adds three statements:

モビコムがモンゴル東部ドルノド県の自然保護区に立ち入った目的は、4Gネットワークの通信試験を実施するためです。

The purpose of Mobicom’s entry into the nature reserve in Dornod Province, eastern Mongolia, was to carry out communication tests of the 4G network.

国境地域への立ち入りにあたっては、国境警備機関に対して事前に通知していたと確認しています。

We have confirmed that the border guard authorities were notified in advance of the entry into the border area.

なお、モビコムからは10 月 11 日に報告を受けています。

We received a report from Mobicom on 11 October.

KDDI’s 10-22 reply to the Asahi Shimbun²²:

発生原因は現地の警察当局が調査中。モビコムの安全管理体制を抜本的に見直し、再発防止を全力で進める

The cause is under investigation by the local police. We will fundamentally review Mobicom’s safety management and do our utmost to prevent a recurrence.

The same report, citing Mongolian state broadcasting, says Mongolia’s prime minister on 10-21 ordered an investigation into the damage and the cause, and said those responsible would be identified and made to pay compensation.

On 10-23 KDDI posted an apology in its newsroom²³; the page gives 16:00 JST as its publication time, and KDDI’s PR account on X posted the link at 20:42. The announcement says Mobicom had that day published the facts it has confirmed so far and that KDDI was reporting on that basis. The passages on the purpose of the visit, the convoy and how the fire started:

モビコムの社員は2026 年 10 月 6 日から8 日にかけて、国境港湾局の要請に基づき、以下の目的でヌムルグ自然保護区を訪問しました。本火災は下記の訪問中、車両による移動時に発生したものです。 [1] モビコムが整備した通信ネットワークの開通式典への出席 [2] 4G 通信ネットワークの通信品質などの現地確認

From 6 to 8 October 2026, at the request of the border port authority, Mobicom staff visited the Nömrög nature reserve for the following purposes. The fire occurred while travelling by vehicle during this visit. (1) To attend the opening ceremony of the communications network built by Mobicom; (2) to check the quality of the 4G network and related matters on site.

移動中はモビコムの社員の車両 2 台の前後に、当局の車両 3 台が車列の先頭および最後尾を走行する体制がとられていました。

While travelling, 3 vehicles of the authorities drove at the front and rear of the convoy, ahead of and behind Mobicom staff’s 2 vehicles.

モビコム所有の車両は2 台で、社員は計 7 名（2 名の運転手を含む）が乗車していました。当時同行していた日本人はモビコムの越智 CEOのみであり、モビコム社員が運転する車両に乗車していました。

Mobicom owned 2 of the vehicles, carrying 7 staff in total (including 2 drivers). The only Japanese person present was Mobicom CEO Ochi, who rode in a vehicle driven by a Mobicom employee.

枯草が車両下部に付着し火災が発生することを避けるため、安全管理上、車両は20～30 分ごとに停車し、車両に付着した枯草を除去しながら移動していました。

2026 年 10 月 8 日の移動中、枯草を除去するため停車していた際、モビコムの社員の乗車する車両下部からの発煙を確認しました。

その後、国境港湾局およびモビコムの社員は、当局の指示に基づき消火活動を行いましたが、火が周囲の草に燃え移り、延焼をくい止めることができませんでした。

To prevent dry grass from collecting under the vehicles and catching fire, as a safety measure the vehicles stopped every 20 to 30 minutes and travelled while removing the grass that had collected.

While travelling on 8 October 2026, during a stop to remove dry grass, smoke was seen coming from the underside of a vehicle carrying Mobicom staff.

The border port authority and Mobicom staff then fought the fire as instructed by the authorities, but it spread to the surrounding grass and they could not stop it.

The announcement adds that the specific cause of the smoke and the reasons the fire spread are under investigation by the authorities, and that KDDI has confirmed Mobicom’s staff committed 「その他法令違反行為」 (no other violations of law).

Note: on the purpose of entering the reserve, Mobicom’s 10-12 statement says the group, after the handover, was studying the possibility of building a network and familiarising itself with the terrain, and does not mention communication tests; KDDI said on 10-21 the purpose was 4G network communication tests; KDDI’s 10-23 announcement says the group was attending an opening ceremony and checking 4G quality at the border port authority’s request. These accounts are recorded side by side; the Mongolian police have not published findings. The advance notice to the border guards and the entry permit in the announcement are consistent with the 10-06 to 10-08 border-zone permits in the Mongolian General Authority for Border Protection’s statement; the announcement dates that statement 10-13, while the reprint cited here¹⁰ was published on the morning of 10-14. Other discrepancies are set out in Comparing the accounts below. How Japanese media covered the fire is described in Nömrög (Numrug) Grassland Fire in Dornod, Mongolia: Twelve Days of Japanese Mainstream Media.

At the meeting called by the minister of environment and climate change on the morning of 10-26, Mobicom’s legal director О.Өмөрбек said (Өрөг.МН²⁴):

Хохирлын үнэлгээ тогтоох ажилд шаардлагатай тусламж, дэмжлэгийг үзүүлж хамтран ажиллана.

We will provide the necessary assistance and support for the work of establishing the damage assessment, and work on it together.

Тэрбээр гэм бурууг шүүхээр эцэслэн тогтоогоогүй байхад хэнийг ч гэм буруутай мэтээр үзэж болохгүй, гал түймрийн шалтгаан, холбогдох асуудлаар мөрдөн шалгах ажиллагаа явагдаж байгаа тул нэмэлт мэдээлэл өгөх боломжгүй гэсэн юм.

He said that no one may be treated as being at fault while guilt has not been finally established by a court, and that since an investigation into the cause of the fire and related matters is under way, he could not give further information.

iKon’s report the same day²⁵ was headlined ““Мобиком Корпорац” хохирлыг тогтооход хэрэгтэй байгаа зардал, тусламж дэмжлэгийг бүх талаас нь үзүүлнэ” (Mobicom Corporation will provide in full the costs and assistance needed to establish the damage). In both reports what he speaks of is helping to assess the damage; he does not mention compensation. Өрөг.МН also reports that Mobicom staff said they had obtained entry permission from the border authorities.

The same day, the minister of environment and climate change Ц.Сандаг-Очир and State Secretary Ш.Батбаяр met the Japanese ambassador Игавахара Масарү and Mobicom CEO Ochi (Ясүхиро Очи). iKon reported²⁶:

Харин “Мобиком корпорац” ХХК-ийн Гүйцэтгэх захирал Ясүхиро Очи байгаль орчинд учирсан хор хохиролд чин сэтгэлээсээ харамсаж байгаагаа илэрхийлж, Монголын ард түмнээс уучлалт хүслээ.

Mobicom CEO Ochi expressed his sincere regret for the damage done to the environment and apologised to the Mongolian people.

According to the report, he also said the company would cooperate with the investigation and with protecting and restoring the environment. The ambassador said the Japanese government was ready to help fully with restoration and ecosystem protection, and wished to send Japanese experts in nature conservation and restoration to work in the reserve.

On 10-28, State Secretary Ш.Батбаяр said that Mobicom is paying for the helicopters (Өрөг.МН²⁷):

Нисдэг тэрэгний зардлыг “Мобиком” корпорац хариуцаж, шатахууны зарим зардалд “Шунхлай” ХХК дэмжлэг үзүүлэхээ илэрхийлсэн байна.

Mobicom Corporation is covering the cost of the helicopters, and Shunkhlai LLC has said it will contribute to part of the fuel costs.

At the first-half earnings briefing on 11-06, according to reporter Yasuhiro Koyama’s running posts on X²⁸, KDDI president Hiromichi Matsuda began by apologising for the fire and said KDDI would keep meeting its social responsibility toward restoring the natural environment and trust. In the Q&A, Matsuda voiced concern about the effect on people who have long worked for the friendship between the two countries, and that KDDI takes this accident gravely; the authorities’ investigation is still under way, and KDDI will take its results into account, work with local bodies and the authorities, and meet its 「社会的、道義的な責任」 (social and moral responsibility) according to local needs; the Mongolian embassy in Tokyo was visited last week to apologise to the ambassador and offer sympathy; preparations for restoring the environment will follow the investigation’s results. This comes from the reporter’s notes. The presentation, earnings summary and data book KDDI released that day do not mention the fire, and the full-year forecast is unchanged²⁹.

KDDI決算会見。冒頭、松田社長からモンゴル草原火災についてのお詫び。

「自然環境の回復と信頼回復に向けて継続的に社会的責任を果たしていく。

モンゴル火災「胸が痛むのは両国の友好関係に並々ならぬ尽力をされてきた人々に影を落としたのではないか。非常にこれまでの関係性で築かれたものが不慮の事態が起きたことを厳粛に受け止めている。もともと当局の調査が進んでいるので、KDDIとしてもそれを踏まえながら、現地の関係機関、当局と連携してニーズを踏まえて社会的、道義的な責任を果たしていきたい。先週モンゴル大使館に行って駐日大使にお詫びとお見舞い。自然環境回復に向けては色々あるだろうが、調査されているのでそれを受けて準備していきたい。

ケータイWatch (Keitai Watch) published an edited transcript of this exchange in its report at 22:05 Japan time that evening³⁰. The question was whether, beyond cooperating fully with the authorities’ investigation, KDDI had specific plans to use its technology and resources to help restore the local natural environment. Matsuda answered that last week he had gone in person to the Mongolian embassy in Tokyo to apologise to the ambassador, バンズラグチ・バヤルサイハン, and offer sympathy, and that restoring the natural environment would be based on the results of the investigation the local authorities are conducting, with KDDI working with the relevant bodies and meeting its social and moral responsibility according to local needs:

（具体策は）準備を進め、時期がきましたらご説明いたします。

(As for specific measures,) we are making preparations and will explain them when the time comes.

In the report Matsuda does not mention compensation or give an amount. As of 11-09, the KDDI investor relations page has only the presentation and the data set for this briefing, and no Q&A record.

Comparing the accounts

Set side by side, the accounts from Mobicom and KDDI and the statements of Mongolian agencies differ in several places.

The last two sentences of Mobicom’s 10-12 statement (full text on newswire.mn⁴⁰; ikon.mn¹⁵ carried only the middle passage):

Манай ажилтнууд хилийн цэргийн байгууллагаас зохих журмын дагуу албан ёсны зөвшөөрөл авч, тухайн бүс нутагт нэвтэрсэн болно. Мөн тухайн ажлын хүрээнд орон нутгийн удирдлага, хил хамгаалах байгууллагын удирдлага, бие бүрэлдэхүүн хамт зорчоогүйг албан ёсоор мэдэгдэж байна.

Our employees entered the area after obtaining official permission from the border troops in accordance with the rules. We also state officially that local leaders and the leaders and personnel of the border-protection agency did not travel with us in the course of this work.

Those who received permits, according to the border authority’s statement¹¹:

Хилийн боомтын захиргаа, Мобиком корпорацын удирдлага, орон нутгийн иргэд болох нийт 13 хүн (5 автомашин)

The border port administration, Mobicom Corporation management and local residents, 13 people in all (5 vehicles)

KDDI’s 10-23 announcement²³:

ヌムルグ自然保護区内での行動ならびに移動は、国境港湾局によってすべて管理・監督され、移動中はモビコムの社員の車両 2 台の前後に、当局の車両 3 台が車列の先頭および最後尾を走行する体制がとられていました。

All activity and movement inside the Nömrög nature reserve was managed and supervised by the border port authority; while travelling, 3 vehicles of the authorities drove at the front and rear of the convoy, ahead of and behind Mobicom staff’s 2 vehicles.

Deputy Prime Minister Н.Номтойбаяр, who is in charge of emergencies, briefing on the fire at the State Palace on 10-14 (ikon.mn³¹; another version on urug.mn⁴¹):

Тэгэхээр Мобиком групп дархан цаазат газарт орох ажил хэргийн шаардлага байсан уу. Мобиком групп Нөмрөгийн застав руу шилэн кабель тавина гэж би сонсоогүй. Нөмрөгийн заставт шилэн кабель тавих шаардлага байхгүй.

So did the Mobicom group have a business need to enter the strictly protected area? I have not heard that the Mobicom group was going to lay fibre-optic cable to the Nömrög border post. There is no need to lay fibre to the Nömrög border post.

Би Дорнод аймгийг найман жил төлөөлж, УИХ-д сонгогдож байсан. Дархан цаазат газар учраас хэдий УИХ-ын гишүүн ч гэлээ холбогдох байгууллагад нь мэдэгддэг байсан.

I represented Dornod Province in parliament for eight years. Because it is a strictly protected area, even as a member of parliament I would notify the relevant bodies.

The member of parliament У.Отгонбаяр, who attended the opening ceremony, in an interview with Зууны мэдээ¹²:

Би Сүмбэрт аравдугаар сарын 6-ны үдээс өмнө ажиллаад, тэгээд аймаг явсан. Харин тэр хүмүүс тэндээ үлдсэн. Би цаашаа явсан. Тэр хүмүүс Нөмрөг рүү явах замдаа гал тавьсан юм байна гэж ойлгосон.

I took part in the event at Sümber on the morning of 6 October and then went to the provincial centre. Those people stayed there. I left first. My understanding is that those people started the fire on their way to Nömrög.

Note: the opening ceremony was on the morning of 10-06 at Sümber (border authority statement, the MP’s interview); the fire was on 10-08, reported at a location 125 km southeast of the Khalkhgol sum centre (ikon.mn citing the emergency agency¹⁵). The MP says Nömrög is 80 to 90 km from the Sümber port. KDDI lists attending the opening ceremony and checking network quality together as the purposes of visiting the reserve; only the second can account for activity inside the reserve on the day of the fire. Kyodo, citing KDDI, reports that the group was on its way back when the fire started³². The deputy prime minister speaks of laying fibre to the Nömrög border post, while Mobicom and KDDI speak of fibre to the Sümber port and 4G at the posts inside the reserve, so the two are not describing the same work; what the deputy prime minister questions is the business need to enter the reserve.

Note: the distances below are computed on the OSM 2026-10-25 snapshot, with the ignition point at 46.883°N, 119.395°E. The Khalkhgol sum centre (Халхгол) is 101.4 km from the ignition point in a straight line, bearing 145°. Along OSM roads it is 117.2 km from the sum centre to the end of the track nearest the ignition point, and from there 6.7 km in a straight line, 123.9 km in total, which matches the emergency agency’s “125 km southeast”. The Sümber port (Сүмбэр боомт) is 49.4 km from the ignition point in a straight line. From the port it is 14.8 km in a straight line to the Nömrög border post (Нөмрөгийн застав), 38.8 km in a straight line and 153.8 km by road to Nömrög bag (Нөмрөг баг), and 81.8 km by road to the sum centre. Of these, only the road distance from the port to the sum centre is close to the MP’s 80 to 90 km; the interview does not say which two places the MP meant. The settlement at the Khalkhgol sum centre is also called Сүмбэр, and the original does not show whether “the event at Sümber” in the MP’s words refers to the port or the sum centre.

On the OSM road network there is no road running south from the port directly to the area of the ignition point. The shortest route first goes northwest to near the sum centre (61.8 km), then turns southeast into the reserve, reaches Nömrög bag at 153.8 km, and then follows a 5.2 km track south across the river to the end of the track at 159.1 km (46.941°N, 119.372°E). The route from the sum centre joins the same road at 73.9 km. The ignition point is 6.7 km southeast of this end (bearing 164°), farther inside the reserve; between the ignition point and the border to its southeast, OSM has no roads or place names. On the Sentinel-2 scenes of 10-05 and 10-08, before the fire, there are three straight linear features 0.8–2.9 km northwest and west of the ignition point; at 10 m resolution they cannot be identified as vehicle tracks, fences or firebreaks. See the figures in the section High-resolution imagery before and after ignition of the satellite monitoring post. OSM may not include all tracks in this area.

Two of them, B and C, belong to the same line. On the Sentinel-2 scenes of 10-05 and 10-08 and on Esri World Imagery (source date 2018-11-25 west of 119.315°E, 2022-09-07 east of it), this line can be traced by eye further south as a thin dark straight line running south-southwest; it does not bend with the terrain and crosses valleys. Its northern end is at 46.896°N, 119.377°E, and its closest point to the ignition point is 1.5 km due west of it. Its southern end, at 46.700°N, 119.285°E, joins a light-coloured vehicle track on the floor of an east–west valley, which leads west and then south for about 3.2 km to a compound (46.683°N, 119.276°E), 24.1 km in a straight line from the ignition point. The visible sections total 21.8 km; four sections in between cannot be made out, together 4.7 km measured as straight lines. The southern part is already visible on the 2018 Esri imagery. North of the northern end, no connection is visible over the roughly 5.0 km to the end of the track. Going in a straight line from the end of the track to the northern end of the line, then along the line and the valley track to the compound, is about 31.5 km. Like A, this line cannot be identified from the imagery as a vehicle track, a ploughed firebreak or a fence line. A is a separate feature that runs east from near the northern end of the line; its eastern end is 0.76 km from the ignition point.

In OSM the compound is way/1453039868, named Хар Хоног; its only tags are its names and landuse=military, with no source or note. It has a single version, created on 2025-11-23 by the user “addr:” in changeset 175016235, whose comment is “#OzonGeo Уточнение границ и атрибутов населённых пунктов” (refining the boundaries and attributes of settlements); the edits cover about 250 m around the compound. OSM also maps 6 buildings around the compound. The nearest OSM road is 5.2 km from the compound; this road (way/1571401335, name=“border road”, access=no) runs roughly east–west along the southern border, is 42.6 km long, and is not connected in OSM to the roads around Nömrög bag. This post found no public information on what the compound is used for. None of the parties’ public statements say whether the group travelled along this line on 10-08 or visited the compound; which part of the road network KDDI’s “on the way back” corresponds to cannot be determined in this post.

Note: the Mongolian outlet Eguur.mn reported on 10-12 that Mobicom’s management and others in 5 vehicles entered the reserve on the 8th with the permission of the commander of border unit 0198 to catch freshwater taimen¹³. Xinhua’s report of 23:46 on 10-21 cites 「多家蒙古国媒体」 (several Mongolian media) as saying the group planned to hunt in the reserve or fish for an endangered species, without naming the outlets⁴². The border authority’s 10-14 statement says the MP and the unit 0198 commander were not there when the fire started and that rumours of their travelling with the group, drinking, taking bribes, fighting or hunting are untrue; it says nothing on whether the Mobicom group was fishing. KDDI’s announcement does not address it directly either; asked by FNN on 10-23, KDDI said it was 「確認中」 (checking)⁴³.

Note: Mobicom’s 10-12 statement says local leaders and the border-protection agency did not travel with the group and does not mention the border port administration; the border authority’s list includes the port administration, consistent with the border port authority vehicles KDDI describes, so the two statements do not contradict each other on their wording. But the 10-12 statement stresses that no officials came along, while the 10-23 announcement stresses that the authorities managed the whole trip. KDDI’s 2 plus 3 vehicles match the border authority’s 5; the border authority gives 13 people, while KDDI gives only Mobicom’s 7, and the local residents on the list do not appear in the announcement. Of Mobicom’s 7, KDDI specifies only that they include 2 drivers and gives no rank for the other 5; apart from the Өдрийн сонин list below, the number of executives appears only in Japanese media: TV Asahi said on 10-22 that 3 executives including the CEO were in the reserve that day³³, Nippon TV wrote 「日本人幹部を含む3人」 (3 people including a Japanese executive) on 10-23³⁷, and the Yomiuri Shimbun wrote 「幹部３人」 (3 executives) on 10-23³⁴. If the 7 include Ochi, the staff in the vehicles other than the drivers and the 3 executives number 2; KDDI does not say whether the 7 “staff” include Ochi, and if they do not, the number is 3.

A report by Б.Ганчимэг of the daily Өдрийн сонин (DNN.mn), written after a trip to Khalkhgol soum (Baabar.mn, 09:22 on 10-20; Analiz.mn, 10:41 the same day, credited to DNN.mn³⁵), lists 14 people present at ignition. The report does not say where the list came from, and Mongolian authorities have not published one. I give it here by post only. Mobicom, 7: CEO Ochi, another chief executive, the vice president for business, the director of the strategy and project management office, 1 engineer and 2 drivers. Border port administration, 2: its head Э.Гантулга and its representative in Khalkhgol. Also 2 more drivers, the head of the soum hospital and 2 local residents.

Note: the 7 from Mobicom (including 2 drivers) match KDDI’s figure of 10-23; the total of 14 is 1 more than the 13 in the border authority’s statement. By this list the 7 are 4 managers, 1 engineer and 2 drivers, which differs from the 3 executives in Japanese media. The port administration head’s presence in the convoy agrees with arslan.mn on 10-27⁴⁴ and has not been officially confirmed. Mobicom said on 10-12 that local leaders and border personnel did not travel with the group, and neither category is on the list; the hospital head and local residents fall outside that statement.

The same report quotes the hospital head, the first public account by a convoy member that I have found. The hospital head declined to be photographed or filmed.

The hospital head says there were five vehicles, with the hospital head in the last one. The Mobicom group’s vehicle that burned was in the middle of the convoy, about a kilometre away. Smoke was first seen behind it, the vehicle stopped at a turning circle, and the smoke began coming from between the two rear wheels.

According to the hospital head, the group sent one vehicle after the one ahead; the others moved the vehicles away and beat at the fire with blankets, mattresses, water, floor mats and jackets, used 2 fire extinguishers and threw soil, and could not contain it once the wind shifted. No one had been drinking; MP У.Отгонбаяр left after the opening ceremony and was not with the group; and the hospital head was at the “confluence of three rivers” (Гурван голын бэлчир) for the first time. The reporter writes that the burned vehicle was a Nissan Patrol Y62, that people in the vehicle behind saw it stop two or three times on the way to clear grass from underneath, and that none of the people the reporter met in the soum offered evidence of hunting.

Note: KDDI said on 10-23 that the vehicles stopped every 20 to 30 minutes to clear grass; this report says two or three stops and does not give the distance, so the two cannot be compared. KDDI says the smoke was noticed while stopped to clear grass; the hospital head says the vehicle stopped after smoke was seen while it was moving.

On the purpose of entry, the reporter relays what Mobicom administrative staff said informally: on 10-05 the group’s chief executive submitted a written request, and the permit ran from 10-06 to 10-08.

By this account, the request asked for permission to check the coverage of the Mobicom network newly installed at the Nömrög outpost and for 「Нөмрөгийн үзэсгэлэнт байгальтай танилцах」 (seeing Nömrög’s beautiful nature).

Note: I have not found the request itself. Neither Mobicom’s nor KDDI’s statements mention the second purpose.

Note: FNN reported on 10-23, citing local media and the head of the reserve administration, that the group paid no entry fee and did not notify the reserve office in advance⁴³. FNN does not name the outlet or the official. Ц.Уранчимэг, head of the protected-areas policy department at the environment ministry, said something similar to Өдрийн сонин on 10-15⁴⁵, worded as “there is information”: in the present situation, there is information that those people paid no entry fee and did not notify the protected-area administration.

The department head said that a ranger on patrol saw smoke, contacted the border unit and on reaching the site met people with vehicles. Under the rules, anyone entering for border-related or other purposes needs a permit from the relevant body and must notify the administration. The entry fee is MNT 500 per entry for Mongolian citizens and MNT 20,000 for foreigners, plus MNT 15,000 to 120,000 per entry for a vehicle.

Note: Mongolia’s Law on Special Protected Areas (current text, including the 2023 amendments⁴⁶) divides strictly protected areas into pristine, protection and restricted zones: in the pristine zone only observational research that does not disturb the natural state is allowed (Article 9.2); the activities listed for the restricted zone require appropriate permission (Article 11); the protected-area administration grants permission for activities allowed under the protection regime and supervises them (Article 30.1.2); and Article 6 lists entry fees to special protected areas as a source of funding. The border authority’s statement cites a border-zone permit under Article 25 of the State Border Law, and Mobicom and KDDI mention only the border troops’ permit; neither side’s published material mentions a permit from the protected-area administration. Which zone the fire started in I have not checked, as I do not have the zone boundaries.

Mongolian firefighting and investigation

NEMA’s daily bulletin of 10-12⁴⁷:

дуудлагыг 10.08-ны өдрийн 11:55 цагт хүлээн авсан

the call was received at 11:55 on October 8

This is 4–14 minutes after the satellites first detected warming. The containment line at 00:55 on 10-12 and the report that about 80% of the protected area burned are covered above, in the section on the reported ignition time and place names. NEMA’s bulletin of 10-16⁴⁸:

хээрийн түймрийг өнөөдөр (2026.10.16) 07:00 цагт бүрэн унтраалаа

the grassland fire was completely extinguished today (2026.10.16) at 07:00

On the satellites, the last fire pixels of the main fire were at 14:52 on 10-15, which is consistent with this.

Montsame’s description of Nömrög from 2026-05⁴⁹:

1992 онд улсын тусгай хамгаалалтад авч, 1995 онд УИХ-ын 26 дугаар тогтоолоор Дархан цаазат газрын ангилалд оруулан баталгаажуулжээ.

Placed under special state protection in 1992 and designated a strictly protected area in 1995 by State Great Khural Resolution No. 26.

587 мянган га талбайг эзлэн оршдог.

It covers an area of 587 thousand hectares.

With 587 thousand hectares, 80% is about 4,700 km², close to the burned area of about 4,900 km² in this post. The preliminary estimate of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change on 10-20⁵⁰ is 528,765.5 hectares burned in total, of which 468,965.7 hectares, or 79.8% of the protected area, lie inside it, which puts about 598 km² outside the protected area. This post has no protected-area boundary data and has not checked this split. On 10-28 the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change formally set the burned area from 10 m Sentinel-2 imagery of 10-25 (Montsame⁵¹): of the reserve’s 587,744.1 hectares, 448,993.6 hectares burned, or 76.4%, plus 55,966.8 hectares outside the reserve, 504,960.4 hectares in total, about 238 km² less than the preliminary estimate of 10-20. The mapping was done by the satellite applications department of an institute under the National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring. A Montsame report the same afternoon⁵² still gives 468,965.7 hectares and 79.8% inside the reserve.

On the investigation, Montsame on 10-12⁵³ writes:

Одоогоор түймэр гарсан шалтгаан, нөхцөл … нарийвчлан тогтоохоор ажиллаж байна

Work is currently under way to determine in detail the cause and circumstances of the fire…

The statement of the General Authority for Border Protection¹¹ says:

Хилийн бүсэд нэвтэрсэн иргэдийн санамсар болгоомжгүй байдлын улмаас автомашинд гал гарч, хээрийн түймэр болон өргөжсөн

Due to the carelessness of citizens who entered the border zone, a vehicle caught fire, and the fire spread into a grassland fire

хууль хяналтын байгууллагууд албаны шалгалт явуулж байна

Law enforcement agencies are conducting an official investigation

The Dornod Province local outlet nutag.mn reported on 10-17⁵⁴:

Түймрийн шалтгаан нөхцлийг тогтоохоор аймгийн цагдаагийн газрын ажлын хэсэг шалгалтын ажиллагааг эхлүүлээд байгаа аж.

A working group of the provincial police department has reportedly begun an investigation to determine the cause and circumstances of the fire.

A release from the Mongolian government’s press office, published on the Mongolian National Broadcaster’s site at 14:27 on 10-21⁵⁵:

Түймрийн улмаас байгаль орчинд учирсан хохирлыг тогтоож, үнэлгээ хийх, нөхөн сэргээх арга хэмжээний төлөвлөгөө боловсруулж, түймрийн шалтгаан, нөхцөлийг шалгаж, гэм буруутай этгээдийг тогтоох, хуульд заасан хариуцлага хүлээлгэх, байгаль орчинд учирсан хохирлыг буруутай этгээдээр нөхөн төлүүлэх, хор уршгийг арилгуулах асуудлыг хууль тогтоомжийн хүрээнд судалж, шийдвэрлэх арга хэмжээ авна.

The damage the fire caused to the environment will be established and assessed, a restoration plan drawn up, the cause and conditions of the fire examined, those at fault identified and held liable as the law provides, and made to compensate for the environmental damage and remedy its consequences; these matters will be studied and resolved within the framework of the law.

A release from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change on 10-20⁵⁶ says Minister Ts. Sandag-Ochir visited Khalkhgol sum, where a working group set up by order of the sum governor is assessing the damage together with the ministry’s specialists. The assessment covers ecological and property damage, firefighting costs, and soil, water, plants, animals and the habitats of rare species, using satellite imagery, field measurements and laboratory analysis. After the cabinet meeting of 10-21, the minister said, as reported by iKon⁵⁷:

30 хоногийн дотор хохирлын хэмжээг тогтоох хуулийн заалттай.

The law requires the amount of damage to be determined within 30 days.

He also said the damage would not be limited to the burned area, and that forest, air, soil, subsoil, vegetation and wildlife would all be assessed; the cabinet discussed a 188 km fence along the reserve’s boundary. For comparison, iKon reported on 10-23⁵⁸ that in 2023 about 76% of the Nömrög reserve, some 447,000 hectares, burned, and that the damage was assessed at 3.6 billion tögrög, about 3.46 billion of it for pasture; the report does not say who bore that cost.

On the morning of 10-26 the minister met the State Emergency Commission (УОК), the General Authority for Border Protection, NEMA, Mobicom and others. According to Өрөг.МН²⁴, a working group led by Э.Бямбажаргал, head of the sum governor’s office, is carrying out field inspections and measurements in the reserve together with a team of specialists; its members include the head of the sum police station, the head of border service of border unit 0198, fire and environmental inspectors, and the head of the protected area administration. The burned areas visited so far are the birch forest on Ханчандмань mountain, the pine forests at Хөтөл lake and in the Ар сүм valley, and the areas along the Nömrög and Дэгээ rivers. Vehicles and horses can no longer get in; the ministry asked the State Emergency Commission and the General Authority for Border Protection for a helicopter, and the commission’s helicopter is scheduled to reach Nömrög on the 27th. The report says:

Түүнчлэн хохирлын үнэлгээг шүүхийн шатанд нотлох баримт болохуйц байдлаар мэргэжлийн байгууллагуудын оролцоотой хийх шаардлагатай.

In addition, the damage assessment must be carried out with the participation of professional organisations, in a form that can serve as evidence at the court stage.

If considered necessary, additional experts will be brought in from the forensic examination agency.

iSee reported on the evening of 10-26⁵⁹ that, following instructions from the minister’s meeting that day, the ministry set up a working group to support the expert team, led by State Secretary Ш.Батбаяр, which is supplying the team with equipment, food, accommodation and tools. Two NEMA helicopters will be used for locations that cannot be reached over land, and the coordinates of the landing points have been fixed. The damage assessment covers nine points in total, three of which will be reached by helicopter.

On the afternoon of 10-26 the prime minister held a meeting to check on the tasks set at the cabinet meeting of 10-21. The government press office’s release (republished by MNB on 10-27³⁶) records the minister as saying:

Нөмрөгийн дархан цаазат газрын хамгаалалтын захиргаанд мэдэгдээгүй бүс нутагт нэвтэрсэн асуудал хөндөгдөж байна. Хохирлыг хөрс, газрын хэвлий, ургамал, амьтан, агаар зэрэг байгалийн бүрдэл хэсэг бүрээр нь хуулийн хугацаанд тогтооно. Хэрэг үүсгэн шалгаж байгаа.

The issue has been raised of entering the area without notifying the administration of the Nömrög Strictly Protected Area. The damage will be established within the legal deadline for each natural component, including soil, subsoil, plants, animals and air. A case has been opened and is under investigation.

The minister also said that vehicles can reach about 30% of the burned area, and that a team would fly out the next day to cover the remaining 70%. Г.Ариунбуян, head of NEMA, said the helicopter refuelling truck had left for Dornod at 13:40 that day and that work was planned at 6 points. The prime minister said:

Ийм хохирол учраад байхад хэн ч хариуцлага хүлээхгүй үлдэх ёсгүй. Хэн зөвшөөрөл олгосон, ямар зорилгоор нэвтэрсэн, галын аюулгүй байдлыг хэн хангах ёстой байсан, түймэр гарсны дараа ямар арга хэмжээ авсан болон Мобиком компанийн үйл ажиллагаатай холбоотой асуудлыг ч хууль, баримтад тулгуурлан шалгах ёстой

With damage like this, no one should be left without bearing responsibility. Who issued the permit, for what purpose they entered, who should have ensured fire safety, what measures were taken after the fire broke out, and the issues related to Mobicom’s activities must all be investigated on the basis of law and facts.

Three of the instructions issued at the meeting name individuals:

Хилийн боомтын захиргааны дарга Э.Гантулгад хариуцлага тооцохыг Сангийн сайд З.Мэндсайханд: Хилийн цэргийн 0198 дугаар ангийн захирагч Б.Гантөгсөд хариуцлага тооцож, ажлаас нь чөлөөлөхийг Хил хамгаалах ерөнхий газрын дарга Ж.Бямбасүрэнд тус тус үүрэг болголоо.

The minister of finance З.Мэндсайхан is instructed to hold Э.Гантулга, head of the Border Port Administration, responsible; the head of the General Authority for Border Protection Ж.Бямбасүрэн is instructed to hold Б.Гантөгс, commander of border unit 0198, responsible and dismiss him.

The third instructs the minister of justice and home affairs Г.Тэмүүлэн to hold those who failed to perform their duties responsible under the law. Б.Гантөгс is the commander who issued the entry permits in the border authority’s 10-14 statement; see Border crossing event and entry permits before the fire. The “border port authority” (国境港湾局) in KDDI’s announcement is presumably the Border Port Administration (Хилийн боомтын захиргаа).

Note: arslan.mn reported on 10-27⁴⁴ that Э.Гантулга has been dismissed and that the Dornod governor Ш.Ёлд has been given a warning, and that according to some information Э.Гантулга himself rode in one of the convoy’s vehicles, with about 15 people in total. The government press office’s release says only that Э.Гантулга is to be held responsible, not that he is to be dismissed, and does not mention the governor. I have found no official source for these points. Өглөөний шуудан on 11-04 also writes that Э.Гантулга has been dismissed and that border authority chief Ж.Бямбасүрэн was warned⁶⁰, again with no official source.

On 10-28 State Secretary Ш.Батбаяр gave a briefing (Өрөг.МН²⁷, iKon⁶¹): a 17-member assessment team is working on site, and two helicopters, one from the emergency services and one private, have taken experts to 6 locations that cannot be reached by car or on horseback. The assessment follows the nationally approved method, and the Japanese government has offered to send experts to take part. The work was 30% complete as of Monday (10-26); the expert team will work on site until 11-06, and the findings will be issued by 11-06, possibly earlier now that helicopters and more staff have been added. A Montsame report the same day⁵² says the team includes representatives of the General Authority for Forensic Examination and the environmental police, and that the state secretary met staff of the Japanese embassy and JICA that day.

Note: iSee’s report of 10-26 speaks of two NEMA helicopters and 9 points; the government press office on 10-26 and Өрөг.МН on 10-28 speak of 6 points.

On 10-29 the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change reported on the progress of the field survey (Montsame⁶², iKon⁶³): the expert team appointed by ministerial order has been working in stages since 10-15; its members have 16 to 50 years of experience in environmental and damage assessment, and on horseback and by vehicle they have surveyed about 30% of the burned area and taken samples. The remaining areas cannot be reached because of the terrain and the weather, so from 10-27 the ministry, the State Emergency Commission, NEMA and the General Authority for Border Protection added staff and two helicopters. On 10-28 samples were taken in the birch forest on Соёлз mountain (the easternmost point of Mongolia, next to the China–Mongolia border, about 180 km from the Khalkhgol sum centre), at a river about 30 km west of it, and on Цэцэгт and Зараа mountains, more than 50 km out; on 10-29 the team moved on to Бичигт толгой and Орч mountain, about 100 km southeast of the sum centre. Montsame’s report says:

Эдгээр дээжийг хүрээлэн буй орчинд учруулсан хохирлын үнэлгээг тооцоход итгэлцлүүр болгон ашиглах ажээ.

These samples will be used as a reliable basis for calculating the assessment of the damage caused to the environment.

Note: on the size of the assessment team, iKon on 10-26 quotes the minister as saying 3 vehicles and 13 people⁶⁴; Montsame and Өрөг.МН on 10-28 give 17 people, iKon on 10-29 gives 30, and the ministry on 11-02 gives about 50.

On 10-29 Prime Minister Н.Учрал spoke by phone with Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae. According to the government press office’s release⁶⁵, the Japanese side expressed concern over the damage from the fire and offered its sympathy to the Mongolian people; JICA has sent an expert team, and Japan will take part in restoring the reserve on the basis of the team’s findings. The release does not mention KDDI or Mobicom. Prime Minister Takaichi’s post on X relayed KDDI’s explanation that the border port authority’s vehicles drove in front of and behind the convoy; see Nömrög (Numrug) Grassland Fire in Dornod, Mongolia: Twelve Days of Japanese Mainstream Media.

On the morning of 10-30 the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change reported (Montsame⁶⁶) that the expert team had finished field surveys and sampling in the hard-to-reach areas. Around Соёлз, Цэцэгт, Орч and Зараа mountains, the Галдастай river and Бичигт толгой, most of the above-ground grassland biomass has burned; in the burned birch forest the burn intensity was weak to moderate. The samples will go through laboratory analysis of the roots, the organic soil layer and soil properties, after which the final damage assessment will be issued.

A second release from the ministry that afternoon (Montsame⁶⁷) quotes the head of the reserve administration, Д.Наранбаатар: 3 working groups have spent 14 days on the damage assessment, and in the areas searched by vehicle and on horseback no animals killed by the fire have been found so far. About 30% of the reserve did not burn, and the wildlife that fled the fire has concentrated south of Бичигт mountain along the Нарийн river, and south and west of Хавирга mountain. Surveys in 2018 and 2022 counted more than 3,000 red deer, more than 300 moose and more than 10,000 roe deer; the administration used to put up 2,000 to 3,000 bales of hay for them, and this year 25,000 to 30,000 bales are needed. Minister Ц.Сандаг-Очир ordered feeding points based at the Nömrög border outpost and the relocation of nearby herding households, with the budget to be decided at a cabinet meeting; a short-, medium- and long-term restoration plan will be drawn up once the working group’s findings are in.

The same day iKon published the views of several experts as relayed by the ministry⁶⁸. The botanist М.Уртнасан said four points in the reserve had burned entirely. К.Тэрбиш, the reserve’s senior officer for law enforcement and inspection, said:

Аюулгүй ажиллагааны зааварчилгаа авсан иргэд гал түймэр гаргаж байсан тохиолдол бүртгэгдээгүй. … Халх голын бүс нутагт жилд гурав хүртэлх машин хээр явж байгаад шатаж байна. Өвс их ургадаг бүс нутаг учраас машины янданд өвс ордог нь гал гарах үндсэн нөхцөл болж байна.

No case of fire has been recorded from people who received the safety briefing. … In the Khalkh River area up to three vehicles a year catch fire while driving across the steppe. The grass grows thick in this area, and grass getting into a vehicle’s exhaust is the main condition for a fire.

On 11-02 Minister Ц.Сандаг-Очир and State Secretary Ш.Батбаяр heard a report from representatives of the expert team. The ministry’s release on Facebook that evening⁶⁹ says the damage assessment has four stages: preparation, field survey, office processing, and conclusions. As of 10-31, a team of about 50 had completed the first two, processing of remote-sensing data and field measurement and sampling; remote sites were reached by helicopter, and the field work finished ahead of schedule. Laboratory analysis of the samples has begun, to determine whether roots and the organic soil layer burned and how soil properties changed. The release says:

Урьдчилсан судалгаагаар 24 мянга орчим га ойн экосистем түймэрт өртсөн байна.

According to the preliminary survey, about 24,000 ha of forest ecosystem was affected by the fire.

Burn severity, stand age and other indicators will be given in the final conclusions; for the above-ground grassland biomass, this year’s samples will be compared with samples collected by the Botanic Garden in 2024 and 2025. Surveys of fire spread and wildlife movement in the zone around the reserve are continuing.

Note: the 24,000 ha refers to forest ecosystem, not to the whole burned area; the total of 504,960.4 ha published on 10-28 is unchanged. When News.MN republished the release on 11-03, its headline read “Preliminary survey: 24,000 ha of Nömrög burned”, leaving out “forest”⁷⁰.

On 11-04 the regular cabinet meeting allocated MNT 629 million from the government reserve fund (about USD 176,000 at the rate on Montsame’s page of 11-06) to prepare and deliver fodder for wildlife in the unburned areas. The government’s release (reprinted by Subeedei.mn³⁸) says the Нарийн river area south of Бичигт mountain and the areas south and west of Хавирга mountain did not burn, and that biologists have observed higher than normal wildlife densities there; surveys of 2018 and 2022 suggest over 3,000 red deer, over 300 moose and over 10,000 roe deer in the reserve and its surroundings. Minister Ц.Сандаг-Очир said after the meeting (Eguur.mn⁷¹) that the governors of Dornod and Sükhbaatar provinces are responsible and that 7 feeding points have been mapped; Eguur.mn’s report the next day⁷² gives 30,000 bales of hay. The government’s release says all costs arising from the fire will count toward the damage, and payment will be recovered once those responsible are identified.

The minister said identifying those responsible is for the law-enforcement agencies; the field team of about 50 is back in Ulaanbaatar and has given its first report to the ministry’s leadership, and the ministry is working to keep the assessment free of outside influence. The minister plans to seek Japanese help in setting up a monitoring and research centre; the release says other countries’ conservation organisations will also be asked to help with recovery once the damage is established, and that work with Chinese and Russian scientists is planned.

Note: the government’s release of 11-04 and the minister still use the preliminary figures of 10-20 (468,965.7 ha in the reserve, about 80%), not the 448,993.6 ha (76.4%) established on 10-28; Montsame on 11-06⁷³ uses the latter.

At 09:16 on 11-06 Montsame published two pieces. One⁷⁴ reports the minister’s meeting with the Czech ambassador: the base of the Przewalski’s horse reintroduction project in Nömrög did not burn, researchers consider that the project can continue as normal, and the two sides agreed on building an airstrip in the reserve and on urgent fire protection around the reintroduction site. The other⁷³, by its Dornod correspondent, is on how long recovery will take. Citing the literature, it says that after a fire of medium intensity in a cool climate, abiotic soil and water indicators recover in about 10 years on average and plant species composition approaches its earlier state in 15 to 25 years. JICA senior adviser Hasegawa Motohiro described research after the 1988 Yellowstone fires in the discussions, and laboratory analysis and the combined assessment are still under way.

Around midday the same day, State Secretary Ш.Батбаяр met a delegation led by Цао Ли, chargé d’affaires of the Chinese embassy in Mongolia (Montsame⁷⁵). He proposed bringing in Chinese experience and methods for restoring the areas where the two countries border each other and the burned ecosystems, carrying out joint research, organising long-term monitoring, and involving experts and researchers. Montsame’s original text:

Нөмрөгийн дархан цаазат газарт гарсан түймрийн хохирлыг зөвхөн шатсан талбайн хэмжээгээр үнэлэх бус, хөрс, ургамлын бүрхэвч, амьтны аймаг болон байгалийн харилцан хамааралтай үйл явцад үзүүлсэн нөлөөллийг цогцоор нь судалж, шинжлэх ухааны үндэслэлтэй нөхөн сэргээлт хийх шаардлагатай

The damage from the fire in the Nömrög Strictly Protected Area should not be assessed only by the size of the burned area; its effects on soil, vegetation cover, fauna and interdependent natural processes need to be studied as a whole, and restoration needs to be carried out on a scientific basis

The two sides said they would strengthen cooperation on ecological restoration in Nömrög and on combating desertification.

In the afternoon, Minister Ц.Сандаг-Очир met the Japanese ambassador Игавахара Масарү; the ministry said this was the two sides’ third meeting (News.MN⁷⁶, Eguur.mn⁷⁷). The ambassador said Japan would assess the situation after the fire, determine as soon as possible the support needed to restore the environment, and support the restoration of the ecosystem in every respect, and thanked the researchers who took part in the field survey. The Eguur.mn version adds that Japan intends not to limit cooperation to Nömrög but to extend it to the environmental field and to support nature conservation with the technology and infrastructure of the telecommunications sector; it does not mention Mobicom. The minister said the government discusses Nömrög at every cabinet meeting, and that after meetings with representatives of Russia, China and the Czech Republic it has been agreed to obtain expert support from foreign researchers. The last sentence of the News.MN version:

Харин Нөмрөгийн дархан цаазат газарт гарсан түймрийн шалтгаан, нөхцөлтэй холбоотой хэргийг хууль хяналтын байгууллага шалгаж байгаа аж.

Meanwhile, the case concerning the cause and circumstances of the fire in the Nömrög Strictly Protected Area is being investigated by law enforcement bodies.

Note: on the deadline for the damage assessment, eguur.mn on 10-29⁷⁸ applies the Forest Law’s 30 days from extinguishment, counting from 07:00 on 10-16 to 11-15; the state secretary said on 10-28 that the findings would be issued before 11-06. The minister said on 11-04 that the legal deadline is 11-16⁷¹; Eguur.mn on 11-05 writes that a preliminary assessment will be produced and sent to the relevant bodies by 11-16⁷². Both dates are later than the 11-06 given by the state secretary, and no findings had been published as of 11-09.

As of 11-09, no official investigation findings or damage amount have been published; the minister said on 10-26 that a case has been opened, and the reports of 11-06 say only that law enforcement bodies are investigating; no details of the case have been published.

Chinese border response

Chinese official reports do not mention the name of the protected area or the cause of the fire. Across from the southern edge of the fire area is East Ujimqin Banner, Xilin Gol League, and across from the eastern edge is Arxan City, Hinggan League; the “East Ujimqin Banner border line” (东乌珠穆沁旗边境一线) and the Arxan direction in the Xinhua report of 10-11³ refer to the same fire. That report said Inner Mongolia had mobilized more than 2,000 people to guard the border section by section, and that as of 21:00 on 10-11 “the fire has not yet spread into the country” (大火暂未蔓延入境). The Xinhua report of 10-13⁷⁹ said Inner Mongolia had deployed more than 3,400 personnel from professional teams, that “this round of Mongolian grassland fire did not cross the border line” (此轮蒙古国草原火未越过边境线), and that as of 11:00 on 10-13 “intermittent fire lines remained only in parts of the Mongolian side along the border” (边境沿线仅蒙古国一侧局部尚存断续火线). The Inner Mongolia Daily report of 10-13⁸⁰ said of Hinggan League that “as of 14:00 on October 12, the fire from outside the country had been successfully stopped outside the border” (截至 10 月 12 日 14 时，境外火势被成功阻击在边境之外). Su Fengjiao, director of the Hinggan League Emergency Management Bureau, said (Inner Mongolia News 10-13⁸¹): “We immediately launched a Level IV emergency response for forest and grassland fires, and coordinated more than 2,000 personnel from all sides to guard the border section by section and block the fire along the whole line.” (我们第一时间启动森林草原火灾处置四级应急响应，统筹各方力量 2000 余人分段布防，全线堵截。) The Xilin Gol League Emergency Management Bureau (CCTV Finance 10-13⁸²) stated that “the open flames did not cross the national border and have not yet caused direct losses on our side such as damage to forest and grassland resources or casualties” (明火未越过国境线，尚未造成我方森林草原资源损毁、人员伤亡等直接损失). The People’s Daily app on 10-14 (reposted by gmw.cn)⁸³ said that “this round of Mongolian grassland fire did not cross the border line and caused no casualties on our side” (此轮蒙古国草原火未越过边境线，未造成我人员伤亡).

The report of the Hinggan League Forestry and Grassland Bureau on 10-16⁵ records the response on the Hinggan League side. From 10-09 it “assembled a professional firefighting force of 530 and stationed it section by section along the 131 km border defense line under its responsibility” (集结 530 人专业扑火队分段驻守在 131 公里边境责任防线). At 17:00 on 10-10 “the nearest point of the fire was only 9.2 km from our league’s border” (最近火点距我盟边境仅 9.2 公里), and “at the peak, 680 personnel were stationed on the front line with 750 on standby” (最高峰实现一线驻防 680 人、备勤 750 人). After a sudden wind shift at 12:40 on 10-11, it “used the border patrol road to carry out precise counter-burning in the hundred-meter buffer between the border wire fence and the firebreak, building a flame-retardant barrier about 100 m wide” (依托边境巡逻路，对国境铁丝网至防火隔离带百米缓冲区开展精准对冲点烧作业，构建宽度约 100 米的阻燃隔离屏障), and “the backburning of the control segments was completed in full: 29 km in the Horqin Right Front Banner sector, 21 km in the Wuchagou sector, 58 km in the Bailang Forestry Bureau sector and 23 km in the Arxan City sector” (科右前旗战区 29 公里、五岔沟战区 21 公里、白狼林业局战区 58 公里、阿尔山市战区 23 公里防控区段点烧作业全面完成). On 10-13 there were 2 residual smoke points outside the country. “From 22:00 on October 13 to 01:00 on the 14th, the meteorological department carried out artificial rain (snow) enhancement, firing a total of 56 rockets and flying 2 hours 46 minutes of aircraft operations; the operation area received 1–2 mm of snowfall and 1 cm of snow cover” (10 月 13 日 22 时至 14 日 1 时，气象部门开展人工增雨（雪）作业，累计发射火箭弹 56 枚、飞机作业 2 小时 46 分钟，作业区域形成 1—2 毫米降雪、1 厘米积雪). “As of 13:00 on October 15, there was no smoke and no fire at all within visible range inside Mongolia across from the Hinggan League border” (截至 10 月 15 日 13 时，兴安盟边境对面蒙古国境内可视范围彻底无烟无火), and the remaining personnel withdrew. The report also mentions “the league’s 196 km staggered border firebreak” (全盟 196 公里错落式边境防火隔离带). Note: the last fire pixels of the main fire in the satellite record are at 13:48 and 14:52 on 10-15, more than 11 km from the border, which does not contradict the statement of no smoke or fire “within visible range” at 13:00.

The CCTV News report of 10-15 (reposted by gmw.cn)⁸⁴ says: “On October 12, a working group of the Ministry of Emergency Management went to the Inner Mongolia border to guide the fire-blocking work.” (10 月 12 日，应急管理部工作组赴内蒙古边境一线，指导火灾堵截工作。) It continues: “After several days of coordinated operations by multiple rescue forces, more than 330 km of fire from outside the country was successfully blocked, and it did not burn into our country’s territory anywhere along the line.” (经过这几天多方救援力量协同作战，成功堵截境外火 330 余公里，全线未烧入我国境内。) The methods were “tactics such as patrolling in readiness to suppress, clearing while suppressing, and widening firebreaks, with 5 task areas designated” (以巡待扑、边打边清、拓宽隔离带等战术战法，划分 5 个任务区域). As of publication, “the fire blocking is under control overall” (火情堵截整体可控). The CCTV.com report of 10-15 22:02⁸⁵: “As of 12:00 on the 15th, after coordinated efforts by all forces, the grassland fire that broke out inside Mongolia has been successfully blocked at the China–Mongolia border line, and the fire line has not burned into our country’s territory. Within visible range along the border in Xilin Gol League, Hinggan League and Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, there is no smoke and no fire.” (截至 15 日 12 时，经各方力量协同攻坚，发生在蒙古国境内的草原火灾已成功堵截于中蒙边境一线，火线未烧入我国境内。内蒙古锡林郭勒盟、兴安盟、呼伦贝尔市边境一线可视范围内无烟无火。) “At present, the firefighting forces have shifted to routine patrol and watch, and will withdraw in an orderly manner after 24 hours depending on the situation.” (目前，扑火力量转入常态化巡护看守，24 小时后视情况有序撤离。)

Southern Weekly on 10-18⁸⁶ interviewed Wang Yong (王永), a firefighter with the Arxan City Forestry and Grassland Bureau. On 10-10, “at around 9 p.m., the border crossings on the Chinese and Mongolian sides coordinated to let them through. Wang Yong and about 20 teammates crossed the border and, led by a Mongolian guide, went more than twenty kilometers into Mongolian territory, where they put out a fire line about 5 km long” (晚 9 时许，中蒙双方口岸协调放行。王永和队友约 20 人出境，并在蒙古国向导带领下深入其境内二十余公里处，扑灭了约 5 公里长的火线); on 10-11 “they crossed the border twice to put out flames” (他们两次出境扑灭火焰), and after they returned at night, “the subsequent fire situation at the border was handed over to professional firefighters” (边境后续的火情交由专业消防人员接手).

The CMA article posted on its WeChat account at 17:30 on 10-20² records the response on the meteorological side, and places the joint consultation with Mongolia and the extra observation under MAZU (“妈祖”), the CMA’s intelligent early warning initiative. The Inner Mongolia Meteorological Service arranged for NSMC to push FY-4C fire monitoring products, set up portable weather stations along the border, and “issued a total of 258 special meteorological service materials” (累计发布专题气象服务材料258期); the Xilin Gol League Meteorological Service “pushed remote sensing information on hot spots and fire-ground weather forecasts every 30 minutes” (每30分钟滚动推送高温点遥感信息及火场气象预报). On the afternoon of 10-13, the Inner Mongolia Meteorological Service, together with the National Meteorological Centre, NSMC and other units, “held an online joint weather consultation with Mongolia’s National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring” (与蒙古国国家气象与环境监测局共同开展线上联合天气会商); “in response to the Mongolian side’s customized operational needs for MAZU, NSMC started emergency satellite observation, using the FY-4B rapid imager from October 13 to 16 to monitor the key fire areas on the China–Mongolia border at a scan frequency of once per minute” (为响应蒙古国方面对“妈祖”的定制化业务需求，国家卫星气象中心启动卫星应急观测，10月13日至16日调用风云四号B星快速成像仪，以每分钟1次的扫描频次，对中蒙边境火情重点区域开展高频动态监测). On weather modification, the CMA Weather Modification Centre assigned a national operation aircraft on 10-11, and “before dawn on the 12th, the Mongolian side carried out an operation upstream of the fire; before dawn on the 12th, at night on the 13th and in the daytime on the 17th, Inner Mongolia carried out a total of 7 aircraft rain enhancement sorties and 13 ground operations” (12日凌晨，蒙古国方面在火点上游开展作业；12日凌晨、13日夜间、17日白天内蒙古自治区累计实施飞机增雨作业7架次、地面作业13点次). A photo caption in the article says Inner Mongolia mobilized “the Inner Mongolia Fire and Rescue Mobile Corps and local professional and semi-professional firefighting teams, more than 2,000 people in total, deployed section by section along the border” (内蒙古消防救援机动总队以及当地专业、半专业扑火队伍共计2000余人在边境一线进行分段布控); the text concludes that “the grassland fire never crossed the China–Mongolia border” (草原火始终未越过中蒙边境线). Note: the operation from 22:00 on 10-13 to 01:00 on 10-14 in the Hinggan report (56 rockets, 2 hours 46 minutes of flight) is presumably the “night on the 13th” operation; the two articles count differently, and this post has not matched them one by one. The daytime operation on the 17th came after the full extinction at 07:00 on 10-16 announced by the Mongolian side, and the article does not say what it was for.

Xinhua’s Ulaanbaatar dispatch of 12:29 on 10-27⁸⁷ reports the Mongolian government’s meeting of 10-26: 「蒙古国官方调查初步确认，此次火灾由蒙古国日资背景电信企业莫比康公司车队活动引发，蒙方将依法彻查追责、追偿生态损失并推进生态系统修复。」 (An official Mongolian investigation has preliminarily confirmed that the fire was caused by the activities of a convoy of Mobicom, a Mongolian telecom company with Japanese backing; Mongolia will investigate thoroughly and hold those responsible to account under the law, seek compensation for the ecological damage and push forward ecosystem restoration.) Xinhua’s English service the same day⁸⁸ writes “a five-vehicle Mobicom convoy led by senior Japanese executives and carrying 13 people”, attributed to “According to Mongolian media”. Note: the government press office’s release contains no statement that an investigation has preliminarily confirmed the cause; the minister said that a case has been opened. Five vehicles and 13 people are the figures of the border authority’s entry permits, which were issued to the border crossing administration, Mobicom management and local residents; KDDI’s announcement says Mobicom accounted for 2 vehicles and 7 people.