5 dead in Binondo blaze

People waved frantically while screaming from steel-enclosed windows as fire engulfed a four-story residential and commercial building in Binondo, Manila past midnight yesterday.

Initial reports showed five persons were confirmed dead while two others were hurt in an 11-hour fire which razed the Eliong commercial building located at 589 Quintin Paredes street in Binondo.

At the height of mopping-up operations, five bodies were retrieved by rescuers in separate rooms. Firefighters identified two of the fatalities as 25-year-old Elizalde Chua and his father Ely, the owner of the building.

Three more bodies — two males and one female— remain unidentified. The victims died of suffocation, according to arson investigator SFO1 Wilson Tana.

Firefighters rescued two housemaids of the Chua family as the fire was in progress.

Luisita Seryales, 38, suffered third-degree burns all over her body and is now in serious condition at the Philippine General Hospital. Myrna Pesaro, 42, was rushed at the Metropolitan Hospital.

The fire started at about 2 a.m. at the ground floor of the building, which also serves as storage warehouse of plastics products.

Manila Arson Investigation chief Senior Inspector Adan Bithao said there could be more casualties as the firm employs about a dozen workers and helpers who were on the upper floors.

People were seen waving and screaming at the heavily-fortified windows in smoke-filled rooms at the height of the fire.

Rescuers and firefighters had a hard time entering the burning building due to thick smoke. After more than 11 hours, firefighters were still trying to put out the fire which sporadically ignited from time to time.

"There may be more bodies, but we can’t confirm this until we get inside," Bithao said.

The fire, which reached fifth alarm, was only placed under control past 1 p.m., creating huge traffic jams in surrounding areas due to the presence of several fire trucks. Retrieval and mopping up operations are still ongoing as of press time.

The cause of the fire is still being determined, while damage to property could reach P1.5 million, Tana said.