Dozens missing and feared dead in Philippines footwear factory fire

Three people have been killed and dozens more are feared dead after a fire gutted a footwear factory in the Philippine capital Manila. Rex Gatchalian, mayor of the northern Manila industrial suburb of Valenzuela, said firemen took four hours to get the blaze under control, and entered the burnt-out building to find an undetermined number of bodies. He added that firemen could not immediately determine how many bodies had been inside, but relatives told officials up to 63 of their kin working in the factory at the time were unaccounted for.

None of those trapped inside survived. I’m not saying all (the missing) are dead. We’re still hoping they were able to jump out.

Rex Gatchalian, mayor of the northern Manila industrial suburb of Valenzuela

The fire broke out shortly before noon (0400 GMT), apparently due to a spark from a welding job at the building’s main entrance hitting flammable chemicals stored there, Gatchalian told ABS-CBN television in a separate interview. Injured survivor Emma Santa Agata told ABS-CBN many of her fellow workers were trapped at their work stations on the second floor of the building.

Asia-Pacific Philippines fire