Shantytown fire leaves thousands homeless in Manila
February 8, 2017Advertisement
An overnight fire blazed through a Manila shantytown before being put out on Wednesday morning, leaving roughly 15,000 poor residents homeless.
The flames spread quickly through a section of the Parola Compound, a collection of tiny homes piled on top of each other near the port in the Philippine capital.
Seven people were injured but nobody was killed in the fire, which destroyed more than 1,000 homes.
Authorities said three evacuation centers had been established and food and water were being provided to nearly 3,000 families impacted by the fire.
But many residents spent the night sleeping on a road near the scorched ruins with the few belongings they were able to take with them.
It was unclear what caused the fire.
cw/msh (AP, dpa)