At least 11 dead in Philippines building fire

At least 11 people have died in a fire in a five-storey residential and commercial building in the Chinatown precinct of the Philippines’ capital Manila.

The blaze in the city’s Binondo district was used about three hours after fire responders were alerted on Friday, officials said, but there was no immediate word on the cause.

“The wife of the building owner was among those that died,” Nelson Ty, an elected official for the community where the fire broke out, told radio station DZRH, adding that vendors had used the structure to store their goods at night.

It was not immediately clear if more people had been trapped and were feared dead, however, he said.

The Philippines has a patchy record in enforcing fire safety in buildings, homes and offices.

Sixteen people died in a fire at a residential and warehouse building in August last year, while a massive fire engulfed the capital’s historic Central Post Office building in May 2023.

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