Manila: In a tragic incident, at least 11 people were killed after a fire ripped through a residential and commercial building in the Chinatown precinct of the Philippine capital Manila on Friday, according to officials. It was not immediately clear if more people had been trapped and were feared dead, the official said on the incident.
The blaze in Manila's Binondo district was doused about three hours after fire responders were alerted around 7:30 am (local time), according to officials. "The wife of the building owner was among those that died," Nelson Ty, an elected official for the community where the fire broke out, told local media. The cause of the fire is a liquified petroleum gas (LPG) leak. The blaze was declared fire out at 10:04 am on Friday, according to Philippine-based Daily Tribune. According to Kagawad Nelson Ty of Barangay 289, the 11 victims were trapped inside the building.
The operation involved around 14 firetrucks in the world's oldest Chinatowns, a densely populated riverside section of the capital. Fire investigator Roderick Andres said the fire started in an eatery on the ground floor, and that several of its staff were among the dead.
Most of the dead, he added, were found on the second and third floors, and no one else has been reported missing. Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna offered condolences to the victims' families and ordered inspections to ensure old buildings comply with safety regulations and standards.
The Philippines has a patchy record in enforcing fire safety in buildings, homes and offices due to lax enforcement. In August last year, at least 16 were killed in a fire at a residential and warehouse building. Three months earlier, a massive fire engulfed Manila's historic Central Post Office building.
In 2017, a fire at a shopping mall in southern Davao City killed 37 call centre agents and a security officer. The deadliest incident was a 1996 nightclub fire that killed 162 people, mostly students celebrating the end of the school year, in Quezon City in the capital region. Many people were unable to escape as the emergency exit was blocked by a new building next door.
(with inputs from agencies)
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