Manila’s Chinatown building caught fire, killed 11 people

• Firefighters extinguished the blaze three hours after receiving the alert.
• The building owner’s wife was among the dead.
• Vendors used the structure for nighttime storage.

On Friday, a fire in a five-story residential and commercial building in Manila’s Chinatown killed at least 11 people, according to a community official. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in the Binondo district about three hours after receiving the alert around 7:30 a.m. (2300 GMT), but officials have not yet determined the cause.

Nelson Ty, an elected official for the community where the fire occurred, told radio station DZRH that the building owner’s wife was among those who died. He added that vendors used the structure to store their goods at night.

It was not immediately clear if additional people were trapped and feared dead, he said. The Philippines has a spotty record in enforcing fire safety in buildings, homes, and offices. In August last year, a fire in a residential and warehouse building killed 16 people, and in May 2023, a massive blaze consumed the capital’s historic Central Post Office building.

In 2017, a fire at a shopping mall in southern Davao City killed 37 call center agents and a security officer.

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