Dawn fire razes miners' homes in Padcal
-A A +AFriday, March 18, 2011
TUBA, Benguet - More than 50 residential houses, aside from six cottages and bunkhouses, inside the base camp of a big gold and copper mining company here were razed to the ground by a six-hour fire that started around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Francisco Reyes, a mining engineer of the Bureau of Mines and Geosciences (BMG), who helped contain the fire, said some persons suffered minor injuries but no one died.
“We are still in mopping up operations and we cannot still determine the extent of damage to properties that could run to millions of pesos,” he said.
Rafael Valencia, one of those who led rescue teams, said the firemen based here were assisted by various fire departments of Benguet and Baguio City as the scene was estimated to cover more than one hectare which burned fast and wide due to easterly winds.
Most of the affected houses were of wooden structures.
The displaced families have been evacuated to temporary shelter at the mining company’s basketball and tennis courts.
The big mining community is some 25 kilometers east of Baguio City. (Aure Galacgac)
Published in the Sun.Star Baguio newspaper on March 18, 2011.
Local news
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