At least 28 people have been killed and dozens more feared dead in a fire that blazed through a slipper factory in Sitio Gitna, Barangay Ugong in Valenzuela City on Wednesday.
Firemen said they counted 28 bodies but were only able to retrieve three as the gutted building threatened to collapse after the blaze. It took them about four hours to get the blaze under control, and entered the burnt-out building to find an undetermined number of bodies.
Mayor Rex Gatchalian of the northern Manila industrial suburb of Valenzuela said that the firemen were unable to count the dead inside, but found no survivors. He said that 65 factory workers are still missing and are feared to be dead.
"None of those trapped inside survived," Gatchalian announced to wailing relatives outside the factory.
According to media reports, the fire was ignited by welding embers coming in contact with chemicals used at the factory around 11:28 am on Wednesday. Survivors said that many of the workers were unable to escape because of the heavy smoke blocking the entrance of the factory.
Factory owner Veato Ang said he did not know how the fire started, calling it an “accident,” inquirer.net reported.
Factory worker Nedy Neverio, 35, was among the distraught relatives who gathered outside the two-storey factory awaiting word on her elder sister Nora Verenzuela, 42, and two nephews, who are among the missing.
"Someone told us no one escaped from the area where she was assigned" packing slippers into bags, Neverio told AFP.
It was unclear if the factory had an emergency fire exit. Frequent fire incidents in the Philippines are blamed on the lenient implementation of safety rules in the country.
Image: Smoke billows from the Valenzuela city slipper factory: Photograph: Courtesy Twitter
