Thursday, June 05, 2008
Pre-dawn fire in shantytown kills 3, displaces 2,500 (10:32 a.m.)
MANILA -- A fire swept through a Manila shantytown early Thursday, killing a family of three and leaving about 2,500 others homeless in the Philippine capital, radio reports said.
The four-hour blaze - believed caused by a toppled candle - destroyed more than 100 shanties, each housing about 20 people, in the impoverished Tondo district, fire investigators told Radio DZBB.
Three members of a single family suffocated while trying to escape along an alleyway, while two people were injured, including a 19-year-old hit by a fire truck, the radio said.
Fire officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
Local officials were reportedly planning to convert a public high school into a temporary shelter for the evacuees.
Accidental fires are common in shanty colonies in and around Manila, most of them blamed on cramped living quarters and inadequate safety measures. Most residents lack tap water and rely on communal pumps. (AP) |
