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29 November 2024
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Large fire breaks out in Philippines shanty town, Manila
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A massive fire tore through a coastal shanty town in the Philippine capital on Sunday, leaving at least 2 000 families homeless as flames billowed for nearly eight hours. Drone footage from the Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office showed raging orange flames razing densely packed stilt homes in Isla Puting Bato, a squalid area of Tondo, Manila. Dozens of fire engines and fire boats were deployed to tackle the fire and the Philippine Air Force sent two helicopters, which scooped up water from Manila Bay to help extinguish the fire.
The Manila Fire District said around 1 000 houses were destroyed and roughly 8 000 people displaced in the blaze that broke out at 8h00am on Sunday and burned until 16h00.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire disaster but fires in Manila slums are often sparked by faulty electrical wiring or gas canisters.
Photos showed residents escaping the fire on makeshift rafts into the sea while others scrambled to salvage their belongings.
Isla Puting Bato sits in the district of Tondo, which is Manila’s largest slum area home to roughly 654,220 people. Many live in shabby shacks across densely packed streets near a busy commercial port.
Sources: BC News, CNN
The Manila Fire District said around 1 000 houses were destroyed and roughly 8 000 people displaced in the blaze that broke out at 8h00am on Sunday and burned until 16h00.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire disaster but fires in Manila slums are often sparked by faulty electrical wiring or gas canisters.
Photos showed residents escaping the fire on makeshift rafts into the sea while others scrambled to salvage their belongings.
Isla Puting Bato sits in the district of Tondo, which is Manila’s largest slum area home to roughly 654,220 people. Many live in shabby shacks across densely packed streets near a busy commercial port.
Sources: BC News, CNN
