Binondo blaze death toll reaches 6

The body of a housemaid was retrieved from a gutted four-story residential and commercial building in Binondo, Manila last Wednesday night, raising the death toll from the deadly 11-hour fire to six.

Five of the dead were the entire members of the Chua family that owned and operated the Eliong Commercial building located at 589 Quintin Paredes street in Binondo.

The bodies of Ely Chua, 59, his wife Tessie, 53, and children Edralin, 29, Elizalde, 25, and Erica, 16, were found in separate rooms at the third floor of the building.

The sixth fatality, one Korina Simon, reportedly one of the Chuas’ housemaids, was recovered at the second floor past 8 p.m. during the mopping-up operations.

All the victims died of suffocation, arson investigators said.

Senior Fire Officer 1 Wilson Tana said a stay-in worker for the Chuas remains unaccounted for until yesterday.

"The search operation is still ongoing. We have yet to enter some of the rooms at the top floors due to heat emitted by burnt plastic," Tana said.

The building also served as storage warehouse for plastic toys and merchandise being sold and distributed by the Chuas to markets and malls in the metropolis and the provinces.

The fire reportedly started at about 2 a.m. at the ground floor of the building, which served as storage and display area of the plastic products. The Chuas occupied the third and fourth floors while their housemaids and helpers stayed at the second floor.

The occupants were seen waving and shouting for help from the steel-enforced windows as fire engulfed the building.

Firefighters rescued two housemaids identified as Luisita Seryales, 38, who suffered third-degree burns all over her body, and Myrna Pesaro, 42, who sustained lacerations on both feet.

Rescuers and firefighters had a hard time entering the burning building due to thick smoke. Firefighters had to use steel saws to enter the heavily-fortified structure.

The fire was finally put out after more than 11 hours. The cause of the fire is still being determined, while damage to property could reach P1.5 million, according to Tana.